Pink in my heart
by Admiralkirk
Summary: Sonic finally puts his foot down on Amy's advances. With her a wreck who's the unlikely man to help. Afterwards Shadow finds him self with money troubles and needs a place to stay. Some unlikely friends take him in. Humour is also a genre here. Late Sonic OC stuff. Complete
1. Putting your foot down

**A/N Hey so this is my first sonic franchise fic. So if at some point I messed up a character or or refer to an event wrong let me know please let me know I always want to improve… I mean unless it starts with something like "Hey dumbass…" Now I also must warn that I also haven't played many of the sonic games(Yes you can shoot me now…. I prefer my foot) Anyway besides all that I made sure to research anyone I'm gonna use and learn all their past I can get and even watch videos so I can learn how they speak and possibly specific lines. So don't think I'm totally uneducated.**

 **And this probably goes without saying but I don't own any of the characters, brands, or songs that may or may not appear in this and future chapters.(Assuming this becomes multiple chapters, I might just one shot this, let me know what you think when it's over.**

Deep in the forest a mile or two from the nearby city a pink hedgehog walked through the trees. From the look of her she had been recently been crying. Her arms wrapped around her body like a self hug occasionally wiping her nose and sniffing.

'I give up… why can't he just try things out? He's always pushing me away or telling me I'm like his sister…. I want to be more then just his sister' she thought.

She thought back to earlier today and sighed

Earlier today…

Amy was skipping down the street on her way to go find her blue hero. Last time she checked, which was a few minutes ago from tails, he was at home sleeping in. That was Sonic, lazy yet energetic.

She arrived at his place, small and modest. He wasn't in there a lot since he was usually always on the move in some way. She walked to the door and knocked.

Within a minute the door opened to reveal Sonic still groggy since he only woke up half an hour ago.

"Oh… hey Ames" he yawned.

She cheerfully smiled back "Hey Sonic!" her loud cheerful voice making him cringe slightly not prepared for it this early. "Tails told me you were sleeping in, glad I caught you awake" her hands behind her back twisting her foot on the ground all cute like.

That was all he needed to know which Amy he was dealing with right now. If she wasn't trying so hard he knew she just gonna be normal Amy but her cutsey look made him know she was about to annoy him again.

He opened the front door more knowing she wouldn't keave him alone now revealing his was still just in pajama pants. He knew he'd regret this but he wasn't gonna talk outside like this "Wanna come inside for a bit?"

She nodded skipping past him happily letting herself in.

"So what's up Ames?" The blue hedgehog asked as he walked back in the kitchen where he had cereal.

She followed behind taking a seat next to him at the round table "Nothing much just woke up, got something to eat, a shower, called tails then took a walk here" she quickly explained using her fingers to count off each event she mentioned.

He nodded getting out a smile but dreaded asking what he was about to ask "So…. Why'd you stop by?"

She cautiously chose her words "I thought maybe we could go for a walk" she tried hard to keep it short and simple and not scare him off.

He was obviously suspicious of her intentions but then again, it gave him a reason get out of the house so he with the slightest hesitation said ""alright Ames, a quick walk it is"

She smiled barely holding back her excitement and asked "Could head out to the forest?"

"Sure why not" Sonic shrugged continuing to eat his cereal.

The pink hedgehogs smile got bigger and she waited for him to finish.

They spoke a bit about random stuff while they waited and soon Sonic was finished dressed and walking back downstairs to meet his friend. He had decided on a blue t-shirt and black jeans with his signature shoes.

She smiled as he led her out and they started walking down the street next to eachother.

Sonic didn't live to far away from the cities edge and they entered forest through a trail. It was late Spring so the trees had there leaves back and the weather was great. Very few clouds were in the sky and the Sun was almost at it's highest since it was about 11 o'clock.

Amy had told herself to play it cool and try not to link arms with him or anything and just enjoy the walk. T was one of the first times she had tried being subtle and so far it was really hard. The scenery was beautiful and the sounds of the forest like the birds and leaves made it feel romantic, atleast to her.

Compared to sonic, who was walking with his hands in his pockets, he felt the forest to be calming. He too thought it was beautiful but it wasn't bringing any romantic feelings to him.

Surprisingly he was the first to speak "You probably already know this but I like being outside, especially out in nature like this"

Amy smiled looking to her left at him "Ya, I don't get out here as much I should anymore. I'm always busy"

"Busy with what?" the blue hedgehog asked her. What could she be busy with.

"Recently got a part time job, I didn't realize it would take up as much time as it does. This was some of the only free time I had since this is a day off" she explained glad to see he was interested with her life.

Sonic was surprised to hear her say that and thought maybe this really was just a friendly walk as his body loosened up a bit.

"What'cha do?" he asked.

"I work at a restraint, I'm the new waitress" she smiled again.

He liked seeing her smile, especially like this when it wasn't her crazy love sick smile. It was just her normal smile that could make anyone else smile seeing it. That was one of the reasons he liked her. Her cheerful attitude was so contagious. When he was having a bad day and she was crazy that day she had cheered him up unintentionally with it.

"What kind of waitress are ya, the always cheerful, the sarcastic don't want to be here one, or the changes through out the day kind?" he jokingly asked.

She giggled "Definitely the cheerful one, duh"

He chuckled still walking down the path with her as they reached an area filled with more flowers then normal.

Amy gasped seeing it, she hadn't actually planned for this and her eyes twinkled in amazement. The area was littered with white tulips.

Sonic looked around also surprised by the landscape asked "You plan this" fear in his mind again.

She absentmindedly said "No" which didn't help her case. That wasn't the worst part though; he crazy fan girl side was blooming now starting to lose her cool.

She quickly grabbed his wrist yanking him further into the flower grove and said the twinkle in her eyes even more intense "Wow this place beautiful!"

He half-heartedly chuckled getting ready for anything she was about to do "Y-ya" scratching the back of his head nervously.

She giggled looking to him "Do you see anything else beautiful?" finally her love sick side taking full charge.

He sighed and pulled his hands from her grasp trying hard not to be rough and said knowing he'd have to pull this nicely or suffer the waterworks.

"Yes, but I see a beautiful… sister" he said making special emphasis on the last word.

She suddenly lost all her steam knowing what was happening…. Like it always had before, if he even stayed long enough to say it.

"I'm sorry Amy" he purposely used her real name and not the nickname he usually used "But this isn't happening. I like you, as a sister. That's it. I've told you this several times and I don't know why you continue to pursue me. In fact what you think is destiny, as you've called it in the past, is just disrespect. Years ago you started this and won't quit even after I've politely told you"

Amy was already tearing up but was surpsised he hadn't finished yet. Usually he declined said her saw her a sister and left as nicely as he could but there was more this time.

"Amy, if you told me not to do something, and you were absolutely serious I wouldn't even joke around and leave it be. So I expect the same respect and I'm dead serious. Stop this right now, if not I don't think we can even be friends" it was super hard for him to say that but if he had keep her out of his life to finally feel like he didn't have watch over his back he was willing to do that.

"What!?" Amy yelped in fright "No Sonic please!"

"If you stop it won't come to that. Trust me when I say this, I hate having to do this but it has come to this" he said pausing now to get her reaction. All his will power was going into this and seeing her start almost made him break but he had to be stern and show no hesitation or she'd think he really didn't mean it.

She bawled there for a moment her knees quivering "Sonic I don't want to stay away from you! She hiccupped through it.

He said in a slightly softer tone "I know, that's why I'm give you this choice. I've said it before and now. You are a good friend and a sister to me and we share a lot of friends. I don't want to go through the rest of my life having to make sure you won't be there" he sighed knowing that was harder said then done since she was always hanging out with him and their friends.

She knew that would also be hard but continued to cry and look down.

Sonic sighed and put a hand on her shoulder and said "Amy please think about it. Try to think about what's more important, this fantasy that won't come true or your friendship with me which exists, and is real…. Just remember, it may not exist anymore if you make the wrong choice"

He took that moment to walk away and leave her be. He felt bad for her and leaving her alone but honestly if he heard her cry a bit longer he might break down and show a little too much sympathy.

When he was fully out of her sight he bolted away trying to escape the sobs.

Half an hour later…

The blue hedgehog had ran back to the city and walked alone now. Nothing but the sounds of the city and his mind as company. He felt like shit for leaving her, not because what he said wasn't true, that was for sure. He felt like a jerk but knew this was the only way to finally get out of this cycle and get to normal. Course it was a huge gamble which he truly hoped would work out.

She had two choices refuse his offer and ruin their friendship, and maybe even ruin friendships they both had with others when the group had split up. Both had many of the same friends and they frequently all hung out a lot. It may not happen immediately but eventually people would have to decide which friend they want more and are willing to leave another person(s) for them.

But then again the more favorable one was she took his offer and stayed friends and everyone stayed together as friends. It seemed like such an easy choice but he had been putting up with this for years constantly telling her he going to fall for her and yet no change. It was hard to believe she might actually do it. It unfortunately would prove just how crazy she was and how selfish she was to ruin friendships just for him.

He was still in thought when he walked into somebody and said as he recovered "I'm sorry, I was in deep…"

"Watch where you are going Faker!" a deep familiar voice said.

He looked up to see his friend/rival… ok let's face it mostly rival, Shadow. How'd he know it was him so fast? Especially from what he could tell he was coming from around the corner from an alleyway.

He was in a white thin shirt cut at the neck to expose his chest fur. Around the shirt was his jacket. Black with red stripes… it always reminded him of that one video game… what was it… Mass effect? It was that one jacket you could wear when out of combat. Tails like that one more then him though.

His outfit was completed with blue jeans ripped at the knees and a skull belt buckle. And his jet shoes.

Sonic recovered "Sorry Shadow, I was just thinking"

"I don't care, if you can't walk and think then sit down" he growled.

Sonic recoiled and said "Wow Shad, what's with the anger. You usually aren't this mad until I've said something stupid… like that"

"Shut up" he said knowing he was purposely mocking his anger issues there.

"Sorry" he said, not flashing his grin like he normally would after a joke.

Shadow obviously noticed "What were you even thinking about so hard?"

The blue hedgehog found it odd he even cared instead of continuing on his way "I… don't worry about it"

He shrugged walking past him "Fine" as he did he put his hands in his jacket pockets.

Sonic almost let him go but realized he really needed to talk about this and said "Wait!" jumping to catch up to him.

"I'm not waiting" he said but didn't make a move to get ahead of him again or push him away. Sonic guessed he just meant wasn't gonna stop for him and he'd have to catch up himself.

When the blue hedgehog caught up he started talking hand in his pockets looking down slightly "I…. well Amy stopped by earlier…"

No reaction from his counterpart, but he knew Shadow wasn't oblivious to what that meant.

"She asked me on a walk to the forest. I thought it was just a walk. She seemed normal today" he said now with his right hand out to the right. Nervousness making him start to wave his arm around.

"So we went out there and came across a flower grove. That's when she got crazy… I finally had enough of it for years and explained a deal. She could either stop with all this and stay friends or continue and lose me as a friend and possible others" he explained his case.

Shadow finally spoke "Why should I care about this again?" he never truly considered himself one of their friends, or at the very least didn't admit it. It was hard to tell sometimes.

"Not much I guess" he sighed. Usually he'd act positive and try to prove he was part of their group of friends but he wasn't really worried about that.

"So I guess she cried?" Shadow asked emotionlessly.

He groaned, that was the worst part "That's the worst part! I knew I couldn't back down though or she'd take that as a sign I didn't mean it"

He nodded knowing what he meant but he hardly noticed since he was looking down.

"Why are girls so… hard?"

The black hedgehog shrugged "I wouldn't know, Rouge is the only girl I really talk to and she's always got her mind on things like thievery and deceit" maybe that's why he liked her. She never really cared about bullshit like that, drama and crap. It was get the job done and part ways.

There was no better example then when they entered that boarding tournament and she couldn't care less about that robot. Not like he cared either but that heavily described her.

"Ya well, you're lucky. She's got all this drama and emotions" he whined.

"Then dump her ass" he said meaning drop her from his life.

"What!? No I couldn't"

He shrugged "Then don't" he may have sounded like he didn't care but he actually was coaxing out his true feelings on the issue.

"Gee thanks" Sonic rolled his eyes.

He grunted rolling eyes "So where's she now?"

He sighed "Last time I checked still in the forest crying… I feel like a jerk, but I couldn't stay"

"And I thought you were too good for tough love" he remarked.

Sonic was caught off guard by his small amount of humour "Ya well, if by tough love you mean tough friendship"

Shadow stayed quiet for a bit hoping Sonic would leave but when he didn't asked "Why do you push her away anyway?"

Sonic sighed, he'd been asked this by some people a few times "Well… I always say she's like a sister and I really mean that…. You know… dating your sister is creepy"

"She obviously doesn't see you that way. Did you ever try to break that idealism?" the dark one asked.

Sonic looked away and said after a pause "Ya…. I just can't. Besides…. I don't think I want a girlfriend anyway, especially one like her. You know me…. Well actually maybe not, but I like being free and doing what I want and she's too… restricting" choosing the last word specifically.

Shadow groaned "I don't want to sound soft or that I care but she's always seemed nice when I met her. I remember when she mistakened me for you… I still don't know how though"

"You saw one second of like that. Let me guess, hugged you tightly screeching my name and about to pull you somewhere?"

He nodded he described it almost perfectly.

"That is the least of my roblems when she does that" he said.

He hummed understanding and said "Do you think she'll be ok by herself out there?" he suddenly asked.

Sonic went wide eyed and said "Oh crap!"

He suddenly blasted away in as blur leaving Shadow behind.

Half an hour later then that deeper in the forest…. Basically present time…

Amy continued to walk alone in the forest, the sun at the highest it'd be during the day. The day was still beautiful, warm and a soft breeze blew in her face but to her it felt like a cold wind of despair.

She'd run away from the grove in sadness when she realized Sonic wasn't coming back and was no miles away from running and walking.

Her tears were still gone although the traces of her crying were still easily apparent.

She had realized the same utcomes as Sonic had about her choices. Either ruin relationships or fight her emotions forever and keep everyone happy. It was a surprisingly hard choice. Not because she wanted to continue and ruin relationships but because she was afraid she wouldn't be able to control herself. It almost made just flat out leaving everyone behind a better choice.

She continued to walk sniffing until she sat next to a small clearing against a tree. Now curled up she felt like crying again but heard a rustling nearby.

She looked around with hopes and fears of what it may be. Hoping it was Sonic coming back and fearful it was an animal that wasn't friendly or even worse.

It got closer and closer and she curled up more into herself and pushed back with her legs but the tree was in the way making her freeze in place.

To her utter surprise who stepped out was none of the possibilities going through her head.

"Shadow?" she looked up at the hedgehog who now looked down at her hearing the voice.

"Amy" he said not surprised or questioning her presence.

She got up wiping her face quickly to hopefully make herself more presentable and not looking like she had just had her heart broken… again.

"What are you doing out here?" the young woman asked him.

"Looking for you" he said emotionlessly.

"Me? Why?" she asked confused.

"I figured Sonic would need help finding you and-"

She cut him off suddenly cheered happily her small tail wagging slightly "Sonic is looking for me!?"

He rolled his eyes sighing "… Ya… he's looking for you" not feeling appreciated at all.

"I knew he'd come find me. I KNEW IT!" she said dreaming while looking into the sky imagining him running the fast he'd ever run to find her and know she was safe and hold "I knew he didn't mean it!"

He cleared his throat getting her attention "He just wanted to see you do anything stupid" making it clear what he meant.

You should almost hear her repaired heart shatter again before breaking her pose and slumping over slightly sighing "Ya… or that"

Shadow crossed his arms and said "I will admit he was having a ard time leaving you with those choices though"

Her ears perked over to him and half a second later her eyes "How'd you-?"

"He ran into me in the streets and dumped his problems on me" he groaned.

"Oh"

He nodded but then said "You should head home. Make him run around in guilt for a bit longer"

She looked to him "That's mean!"

He shrugged "He's hurt you a few times, maybe he deserves a bit of pain for once"

Amy thought it over and realized just this once he was right. Not that his deal wasn't still a very real thing, but for enough making Sonic worry a bit longer was good enough.

Shadow was turning to leave when he heard Amy say "Can we walk back? It's lonely out here" she had doubting he'd agree.

After a pause and a sigh he didn't seem to want her to hear "Hurry up"

She smiled once again surprised by the black hedgehog and skipped up to his side which took a bit longer then she expected since he started walking again before she reached him.

She thanked him to receive a grunt.

After that they walked for awhile Shadow finally asked her "Why do you keep trying?"

He snapped out of her mind "What?"

He groaned hating to repeat himself but did.

Amy sighed looking away from him and said "I don't know…. Ever since I saw him and he first saved me I just knew I had to have him" She was rubbing her arm with her other arms hand.

Shadow said bluntly "Sounds like a stupid reason to fall for someone… wow he saved you, it's what he does. If that really worked he and I would both have every woman after us" referencing how they both had saved the world atleast once.

She didn't appreciate his words but at the same time he was right, this wasn't a movie where the woman is saved and instantly they are meant to be. This was real life.

She sighed frowning "I know" feeling embarrassed.

"Hmph" he said glad his point got through "So what else is there" know it wasn't the only reason.

She hesitantly started listing more reasons "He's nice, funny, easy to get along with. I like his eyes. Even after all this time he's stayed my friend-"

He broke her off again scoffing "Nice, then he'd have tried to make your two work. He might be funny to you but to me he's annoying, and he stayed because he knows you don't want that and believes you can be friends because he really likes you as a friend" he listed her points, only the second one meaning nothing really.

She felt dumb again as he chipped away at her perfect view of Sonic. He was right, he could he be so nice if he never even tried to be with her or more importantly would just run away instead of explain. She didn't think he was a terrible person, just not as nice as her perfect view of him was.

As for the third point, he'd said it many times before. She just never listened. She was so rude now that she thought about it. How could she like him and adore him so much yet not respect his wishes?

"Well… I guess I a lot to blame too" Amy said feeling like a bad person and tearing up again.

Shadow didn't notice yet since he never looked to her "I'd say about fifty-fifty. He not making this decision years ago and you not getting it through your head" he words held no remorse or regret. He too knew Amy well and knew that she would never get this through her head unless he made her know for sure.

The hedgehog heard his words and her tears started to form faster and she sniffed again finally prompting Shadow to look over.

"Stop crying" he said slightly softer then he wanted to.

"I can't, I'm such a bad friend" her tears finally being released.

He flinched "You aren't a bad friend, just a little misguided.

She shook her head "No I am! All these years I went against his wishes" she finally realized why Sonic called her crazy sometimes.

Shadow couldn't deny that but said "But you can fix that now" He felt like she had said something like this to him years ago… on the ARK, yes that was it. Man was it great to have his memories back.

She looked up her tears momentarily stopping "I can?"

He rather harshly said "Obviously, it's not rocket science"

Amy didn't even care about the tone and asked "But what if I can't, I've spent so long like this, how can I suddenly stop!"

Shadow sighed crossing his arms "That I can't answer. I doubt you will suddenly have a flash of memory that changes you like I did"

She looked away head tilted right a little annoyed at how hard she perceived this to be.

They continued to walk reaching the edge of the forest and seeing the streets of Westopolis.

Amy kept walking to her house for a moment thought she was alone but noticed Shadow was still by her side. She managed a smile to him though he seemed absent minded or just didn't acknowledge it.

They walked along a bit longer in silence before Amy broke it "Thank you Shadow, it means a lot that you helped Sonic and helped me come home" very thankful.

"Don't mention it… Seriously" he said flashing a side ways glance her way.

Soon they were at her home, that she shared with Cream and he walked her up to the door and said "Well you're home. Wonder how long it will take Faker to look here" the thought of him being out all day and possibly all night made him smirk.

"Hopefully not long" she said softly.

Her comment made him roll his eyes "Whatever"

She smiled and gave him a hug "Thanks again"

It caught him off guard his arms dangling in the air to the left and right and his body tense. He was about to half heartedly hug back when she let go and said "See ya around" and went inside with the normal bounce in her step again.

He sighed seemingly because she was finally out of his quills and walked away from the house and back where he came.

Shadow made it back to his home, just a small apartment for one and went inside hanging his jacket on in the small closet. Damn did he regret wearing that. Dumb forecaster said it would be colder then it had actually been.

He went into a cupboard and grabbed some supplies to make a sandwich and a swissroll… why? Because screw you he wants one.

He went to his tv and sat down to watch something and soon was reflecting on the day eating his lunch.

11 oclock…

Shadow was hanging out in a tree deep in the forest. It was quiet and tranquil out here and being near the flowers helped too. It calmed his nerves and helped him think more clearly. Originally it was to unlock the last bits of his memory he had yet to recover but now he enjoyed it, helped his temper and escaped from all the stupid people in the city.

The smell of all the flowers entered his nose again and he sighed contently.

His silence from the forest was ruined by a screech and he jumped slightly from his semi trance to look at the sound.

What he was didn't surprise him, Amy dragging Sonic into his grove, which made him grind his teeth in anger.

He was about to leave when he felt the tone change in the duo. He turned to see Amy now tearing up and Sonic speaking very seriously. The world almost quieted as this happened and he listened intently.

He didn't get closer or he might ruin that he was hiding. From what he could tell Sonic was laying down the law and explaining finally after years he was fed up and making a deal.

His eyes focused on the girl seeing her cry attracted his attention. Sure it was mostly her fault for being so persistent, and let's face it dumb. Something about her always reminded him of Maria. Atleast that's what he felt on the few occasions he met her.

He was breaking from his thoughts and saw Sonic trying to be nice before walking away. From his vantage point he even saw Sonic speed away.

He watched the poor girl cry and eventually run off and once again found himself feeling sympathy for the girl. He thought to himself and eventually sped off to the city.

Half an hour later…

Shadow had been watching Sonic trying to think about what he'd do and say. He was taking to long anyway so he eventually reasoned he'd just wing it.

Using his teleporting powers to jump ahead then jumping down into an alley. He timed it just right and walked out of the alley.

BUMP

"Watch where you are going Faker!"

minute or two later…

Shadow watched the blue blur take off down the road and then shot off as well. He had proven Sonic cared about Amy atleast enough to go back and find her. But he wasn't going for that. It was obvious if he reached and spoke with Amy she'd just continue her fantasy…. And that meant more tears.

He blasted ahead leaving scorch marks where his boosters shoes had turned on.

He flew I to the forest. Despite Sonics head start he had the advantage of knowing the general location Amy went after she left the grove. So his chance had drastically lowered.

Luck was with him and as he left a bush he heard "Shadow?"

Present…

He finally looked away from the ceiling finally back up to speed and wondered again why he went though all the trouble. It's not like he liked them that much. Hence why nobody knew where he lived, except maybe Rouge. He was so disconnected from them he hardly saw them even once a month.

He realized his mind drifted back to the moment Amy had smiled and gave him down, then back to when she hugged him when she mistakened his identity.

He felt a slight warmth in his chest and looked around the apartment. The warmth turned to a cold feelings, things he hadn't felt in an extremely long time.

He sighed and suddenly his pocket vibrated.

"Probably Rouge asking me to help with another job"

He pulled out his phone and realized it was someone else

Shadow I can't find Amy! Did you happen see her!?-Sonic

He had no idea how he had his number "Tails" he growled knowing the smart boy… well actually now young man probably found it for him.

He received another.

Seriously Shad, I need to speak to her-Sonic

Shadow felt something tell him to not tell him and he wrote.

"I checked her house, she wasn't there"

He spoke aloud "You can stay away from her awhile longer"

Thanks- Sonic

Shadow rolled his eyes at how gullible he was and went back to watching tv.

All he could do was think about why he did all of this today.

 **A/N Well I can easily tell you I started off with a much simpler idea and it evolved to this. I really hope I got people down and did a good job. Let me know if it's good or not.**

 **I have to say by the time I was finished here I knew this had to go on. So I left Shadow thinking, I was even debating whether I should expose what he did or keep it secret awhile. Even then I left a few hints along the way… maybe a little too subtle.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading let me know what you think! And if you guys happen to also enjoy Spyro, Sly cooper and Gears of war stuff check out my profile. If not, well then I can't entertain everyone. If you happen to take my offer my old stuff is kinda bad, especially how I wrote back then. So fair warning.**

 **Admiralkirk**


	2. Lunch and a diner

**A/N Ya so here's chapter 2. As of right now when I was writing this authors note I have no idea what people think of the first chapter but I hope they are positive. Not like it's gonna stop me though, lol.**

 **So ya I hope everyone caught the subtle hints I gave Shadow and Sonic in preparation of the reveal at the end. And especially I hope I got the characters down properly. Cause last thing I'd want to do is change characters personalities.**

 **P.S I suck with clothing so if at some point it seems questionable, forgive me.**

It had been almost two weeks since Shadow saw any of Sonic or his friends. Since then he hadn't really thought of his day helping Amy and… sort of Sonic except once.

Flash back…

The black hedgehog was watching a scary movie, well more laughing at how stupid the characters…

"Yes that's right, head back into the house you fools" he laughed eating the popcorn he made.

The killer was about to get his first victim right as he heard a knock on the door. Growling he got up and walked to the door after pausing his movie.

He opened the door saying "You better not be a solicitor!" but as he opened it he was met with the sight of Rouge, hands on hips.

"Oh, you. What's up?" he asked her.

"Nothing much, I've been a bit bored lately, no emeralds to steal lately" she said in her womanly seductive voice.

Shadow took that and the fact she wasn't contacting him with her phone that this was a social visit "Cool, now what you want?" he said taking a hand into his popcorn and ate it.

"Just wanted to talk Gloomy" letting herself in.

He rolled his eyes at the bat closing the door "You know I'm not a talker"

Rouge shrugged and said "Fine then I'll just sat on the couch awkwardly until you do"

He groaned knowing she'd beat him in that game and submitted "Fine what do you want to speak of?" he walked to the couch and sat down in his corner, mostly because it his butt had left a permanent groove.

She sat at the other end knowing to give him some space.

He waited for her answer.

"What you been up to lately" she asked having heard a rumour although wanted to see if he'd say.

"Nothing much, just my normal stuff. Staying alone, ad training my chaos powers. It's getting easier to use my powers without an emerald" he explained.

"That's not all I've heard, come on. You didn't think I wouldn't find out" she chuckled.

He looked to her confused "What are you talking about?"

"I heard about how you helped Amy" Rouge smiled smartly.

He groaned "They bugged me while I was relaxing"

"Oh so that's how you got in on it" she said adding that to the information she knew.

Sighing once again the dark hedgehog said "She was crying and annoying me"

Rouge smirked catching him again "Oh come on, I know you ran into Sonic and got him to go out and find Amy. But I also know you Amy came back to her house hours before Sonic did"

Shadow smirked hearing that Sonic had been out for hours after Amy got home but then asked "How do you know that?"

"Nice job defending yourself" she chuckled.

"First off I know you always get good info, and second, you were spying on the girls again weren't you. Hoping they had emeralds again I bet" Shadow accused.

She acted offended that he would even suggest that but said "Nah, friend of mine in the government told me you spotted walking with her and speaking to sonic"

"What? How?" he asked mostly because he had no idea and wanted to know why the government was spying on him again.

Rouge laughed at him "With the cameras around the city duh, I asked the guy to watch out for you incase something happened"

"Didn't know you cared that much" he mumbled still not liking that he was being watched.

She cooed fakely "I need to make sure my man is safe and sound"

He hated it when she did that. They were professional, just her flirty attitude showing.

"So what happened?" Rouge asked straight up.

Shadow sighed knowing she definitely wasn't leaving now and so decided to explain.

He went on to describe the day. He started with him relaxing in the forest. How Amy and Sonic got into the argument. Chasing after Sonic, explaining their conversation. Then lied saying Sonic asked for his help to find Amy and he agreed. Then said how he found Amy first walked her home while explaining his thoughts on her obsession of Sonic. He didn't mention he she hugged him and stuff or anything about why he said it besides that Amy needed to get over her adoration of Sonic. And lastly refused to mentioned the end where Sonic text him and he gave him bad info.

When he was done Rouge had a smirk on but let it disappear "Well that's uncharacteristically nice of you Shadow. Think she took your advice?"

"I don't know" he shrugged though wanted her to. The girl was ok and didn't deserve to be hurting herself constantly for a fantasy.

From what I've been hearing she might, I actually did Spy on them later and apparently her friends said she is a little more calm around Sonic and no incidents since then.

Shadow then said "He did make her an offer that he either stop her craziness and be his friend or not be his friend at all"

Rouge was actually surprised by that and said "Wow, damn. He went there"

He nodded in agreement.

"Still I think you helped the poor girl. That was nice of you" Rouge smiled.

Shadow was mid way putting some more popcorn in his mouth and stopped at the word 'nice' and rolled his eyes before fully putting the corn in his mouth.

Rouge felt content with what she had learned and said "Well I hate to take anymore of your time" obvious sarcasm in her voice "I'll see you around Gloomy"

Shadow rolled his eyes at the name again and let her leave by herself and close the door herself.

Rouge said "Bye" as she left receiving a short grunt.

Present…

Shadow rolled his eyes at the bat again while he drove down the road.

He was riding his motorcycle in his outfit from the day he had met up with Amy and Sonic with the added dark shades over his eyes like terminator. He could feel his quills waving in the wind but he knew they'd stay there shape.

Sure he could run a thousand times faster then this thing but he liked the bike and it made him feel cool.

"I am the coolest" he smirked to himself.

He was driving down the street in the normal traffic. After years people stopped noticing him anymore, back after he saved the world from the Black Arm he was a celebrity but after about five years now he blended into crowds except to die hard fans. Just the way he liked it, under the radar.

Stopping at a light he looked around. People ranging from either animals to humans, mostly humans. But he saw something across the street, the bright pink.

He focused and noticed Amy walking down the sidewalk. She wasn't alone though since she was with Cream, Tails and Sonic. Cream and Tails looked older then he remembered, guess that's what happened when the last good decent memory you had of them was over five years ago. They were both in their teens. Tails was about an inch taller then Cream and wore brown two or three buttons at the neck shirt and black jeans while cream were a summer dress with orange flowers along it.

He got to see the other two and watch for a moment to see how they'd changed. Sonic and Amy had to be in adulthood or close to it now… let see Sonic was the same age as him… without the time capsule. 15 back then, ya he was now twenty so Amy had to be close to that too.

Sonic didn't look much different from back then, maybe a little stronger looking, less round as back then. He was wearing a white shirt and track pants, obviously he dressed himself and didn't care.. Amy on the other had grown quite a bit. She was far from the naïve girl who hugged him from behind. She had developed quite a bit since then, and he definitely meant all of her. She didn't wear that weird skirt anymore, she had a pink t-shirt and tight blue jeans. At the last second he noticed a flower tied into her quills.

He debated whether to stop and see how Amy and Sonic were but fate chose for him.

The light had turned green while he was in thought and the guy behind him honked at him. This got the attention of Tails who saw Shadow and waved prompting all of them to stop and do the same.

He drove forward to pull to the side of the road flipping off the guy behind him still.

When he stopped his put down the kick stand and stayed seated as the four walked over.

"Hey Shadow long time no see" Sonic said.

"Please, it's been two weeks" he scoffed hating the line having heard it many times.

Cream said "That's long for us"

"You guys see each other all the time. I'm lucky if I even hear from Rouge once a month" the dark hedgehog explained noting how quickly Cream jumped into that conversation, if he remembered right she was a little more reserved around new people or people like him.

Tails said "Wow really? Thought you guys knew eachother better?"

He rolled his eyes "Ya well it is what it is"

Amy suddenly asked "So Shadow were you doing anything?"

He looked over eyebrow raised "No, just driving around"

"Wanna come with us? We were about to get something to eat" she invited him kindly.

He was about to answer no but his stomach growled prompting the group to smile and he was practically forced to come along now.

He sighed got off the bike taking the keys and asked "Fine, where we heading?"

"Gonna head down to the restaurant down the street" Sonic said pointing with his thumb.

Shadow answered by walking that way and forcing them to walk after him and catch up.

As soon as they did Sonic asked "So how ya been since we last talked?"

He didn't answer immediately "Just been doing my normal thing, being my myself"

"Sounds boring" Tails said but instantly expected some kind of negative feedback.

Shadow merely rolled his eyes and grunted "Whatever"

He turned to Sonic and Amy "Is everything all good with you now?"

Sonic and Amy nodded.

"She's been on good behavior last we met" Sonic smirked.

So it seemed Amy had been quiet like he had asked her "Good to hear"

Everyone was surprised by his positive outlook there but he ignored them.

Amy then said "Ya, I guess the walk home helped me think" she said. To everyone besides Shadow that walk was by herself.

They quickly reached the restaurant and went inside getting a place for five.

Shadow then asked "So where's the other people you hang with?"

Sonic explained the first few "Well knuckles is off trying to find a place to keep the master emerald safe, Silver is off with Blaze on a business trip…"

Tails added "Oh and Manic and Sonia moved to another city"

He nodded "But the second two names were foreign to him.

They were quickly asked what drinks they wanted and Sonic asked for a beer, Amy just wanted a cream soda. Tails and Cream being too young also settled for soda. Shadow answered last and asked for a beer as well.

Shadow looked over the menu as the other four spoke of things he could care less about

'hmmm, the ribs look good' he thought to himself.

"Shadow?"

He jerked the menu down "What!?"

Sonic said "Jeez calm down. Just wanted to know if you got a girlfriend. I was gonna guess Rouge but you said you hardly speak to her"

Shadow looked at him oddly "No I don't have one"

Sonic took his word for it and looked to Tails and asked "So our rabbit and fox together yet?" he teased his poor friend a lot about this.

Both blushed madly in embarrassment and Tails said "No" Tails barely managed to let out.

Even this made Shadow smirk at the two younger friends nervousness. Apparently Amy and Sonic found it funny too.

It was about then their drinks arrived which they happily drank. They were asked what they wanted to eat.

Like Shadow had been thinking he took the ribs, Sonic wanted their double patty hamburger, Tails ordered the steak. Amy went lighter and asked for just the single patty burger. And Cream being a rabbit definitely wanted carrots along with also a steak.

The waiter left and Amy started off next "Your classes going well you two?"

They nodded, Tails being so smart had skipped a year of two ahead in his advanced science classes. Cream on the other hand was learning art.

Shadow had never went to school so everything they mentioned was foreign, he was happy enough have been born with knowledge to read and write.

She nodded and turned to Shadow "Yu go to school?"

He shook his head "Never went to school, everything the doctor thought I would need was pre put into my brain"

They all found that interesting as he continued "Everything I know I learned on my own"

They nodded and Sonic said "Lucky, school is boring"

Amy shrugged "It was ok. I can't imagine how I'd know everything I know today if not for it. Plus I wasn't as lucky as Sonic to have two siblings so it was a good way to meet people"

Shadow looked over and said "Make friends, I thought school was to learn" his low knowledge on the subject showing.

Amy giggled at him which he didn't like "Well ya it's learn but it's also a place to meet other kids. Like recess, during class and whatever"

He said "Oh, well I thought school was only to learn" he felt a little embarrassed about that but he held back a blush.

Everyone chuckled at the table but Cream piped up "It's alright Shadow, you know now atleast"

He grunted and decided to stay out of the conversations unless they specifically asked him.

Soon their food arrived and Sonic clearly was the most hungry eating quickly and slightly sloppily.

Everyone was used to it though didn't appreciate it any less besides Shadow who after licking his fingers from the first rib said "That's disgusting, have some curtsey for the rest of us"

Tails nodded "Ya, come On Sonic, seriously. Every time we eat out you eat like an idiot and embarrass us"

"Never bothered you before" Sonic defended himself.

"Yes it has" Amy now jumped in "Every time we eat out, we just stopped saying anything because whenever we did you get defensive like this"

Shadow may not have been the nicest guy but for some reason he was stinjy on table manners "Didn't your mother ever tell you to eat slow and reasonable bites?"

"Ya, but she ain't here now" he shrugged.

Everyone groaned at this.

"Why are you guys so uptight about my eating?" the blue hedgehog asked defensively.

"Because you do it every time and it's rude" Amy said like it were obvious.

"Pfff, who's actually watching us"

Shadow point in a random direction "them"

Like he said the people of that table had been looking at the hedgehog but as soon as he pointed they looked away to avoid the eyes back.

Sonic huffed looking to the left and said "Who cares what they think?"

Cream said "You saved the world, you are like a role model to people, especially kids. They see you eating like that and they may do that"

He rolled his eyes not liking that he was being ganged up on and said "Wow this happens now because Shadow mentions it?"

Amy nodded "Yes, exactly"

Shadow said "Don't do be such a baby about it and just eat"

Sonic crossed his arms "I see where my friends stand" pouting hoping that would shut them up.

Tails furrowed his eyes "Hey wow, grow up Sonic. You are an adult, don't pull that schoolyard stuff"

Sonic groaned giving up and said "Fine, I'll eat slower"

They all nodded and got back to their meals.

Cream then asked after a short silence since everyone wanted to eat before their food got cold "So what were we gonna do after this?"

Sonic said "I was gonna head out for a run"

Amy said "I need to get home quickly and prepare to head to work.

Tails noticed they had plans and guessed Cream had free time since she asked and said "Well you and I could go and do something"

"Like?" the rabbit looked to her left to the boy.

He rubbed his chin thinking "We could go see a movie?" he offered shrugging his shoulders.

While he did this Sonic and Amy shot quick smiles at eachother since Tails would be alone with Cream for a few hours.

"I'd like that the rabbit nodded smiling and Tails smiled a little too big for his own good.

Everyone looked to Shadow after that and he said "Probably just keep riding around" he didn't understand why they cared since they'd just part ways afterwards.

They nodded and kept eating until everyone was done.

Tails said "Oh man, that was filling, guess we won't need any snacks at the theatre"

Cream said "NO! We need to atleast get popcorn!" Sonic and Amy chuckled at her while Shadows ears curled back from the loud voice.

Tails had to agree to the pleading rabbit and Sonic said "Don't worry I'll pay a bit your part of the bill, that popcorn is expensive"

Tails smiled thanking him.

It wasn't long after that the bill showed up and everyone learned what they needed to pay, Sonic paying for a third of Tails order. Shadow pulled out a wad of cash unfolding a few bills from it to pay his part.

Everyone looked at him, the wad was as big as his hand "Where'd you get all that cash?" Amy asked super surprised.

Shadow looked up not knowing people didn't carry this money on that usually "How much do you think I get payed helping Rouge?" making his point.

"Why not use a credit card?" Tails asked.

Shadow chuckled "Ya the government would like that wouldn't they, know what I'm buying and where. Ya they ain't watching me again"

Sonic was next to ask "Why you worried about them, you saved the world. You got nothing to prove to them anymore?"

Shadow looked up and said "Listen, they attacked the ARK station because they were afraid of me when all I was doing was existing and getting ready to help end diseases and be the protector of the world. I'm never letting the government get on a bead on me again"

They all looked at him sadly knowing an experience like that would definitely make them suspicious and so dropped it.

He also stayed quiet and pulled out two bills for his part of the check then a five for the waiter. The other paid as well and soon left.

Apon leaving Sonic said "Well I'll see ya later" and dashed off leaving a poof of dust in his wake.

Tails checked his watch "Wow we get a moving, the movie is gonna be starting soon" he'd checked start time when he finished eating.

He and Cream took off and as they left Tails said "Hey after this maybe I could come over and critique your paintings…" after that they were too far away to hear.

Shadow was already walking to his bike and put his glasses back on having taken them off when entering the restaurant. He mounted his bike turning the key and revved the engine. Just before he was gonna take off he remembered Amy had to head home and realized they were over an hours walk away from there.

He looked out and saw her walking down the road away from him and felt generous today. He pulled out driving around the cars and up to her.

He slowed again going at walking speed beside her and revved the engine loud to get her attention.

She had been listening to music and jumped hearing the loud engine and looked over. Realizing it was Shadow pulled her earphones out "Shadow what are you doing?" hands on her hips.

He shrugged "You got a long walk ahead of you, need a lift?"

"Nah don't worry about it, I'll be fine. I don't want to be a bother" she declined even though she was a little scared of being on motorcycles.

"How long you got until you got to be there?" Shadow asked getting ready to leave then if she didn't want a life.

"About and hour and a half…." She realized that would cut it close and said "Actually… ya can I have a ride?" she asked nervously.

He was literally just about to drive away and turned and said "I was offering, so ya"

She gulped and walked over as Shadow fiddled with a side bag and pulled out a helmet and asked "You want this?"

She visually sighed seeing the helmet, one less thing she'd have to worry about with her fears.

He tossed it over as she walked over and she put it on fastening the chinstrap.

Shadow scooted slightly forward so Amy would have plenty of room to sit.

She hopped on hesitantly and Shadow said "If you don't feel ok, you can wrap your arms around me" He obviously didn't want to injure her, which is why offered the helmet as well.

She nodded rather quickly doing that wrapping her hands around his stomach.

He found it a bit tight but he shrugged and said "Hang on" and quickly popped the cycle into gear and drove off making her yelp. That made him smirk in amusement.

Her grip tightened more around his stomach the side of her face in his back. He laughed at her now said "Doing good back there princess!" over the wind and engine.

"Not at all!" she screamed.

He rolled his eyes "Just relax, I'm trying to focus on driving and you are crushing my gut"

"I'll try" she said loosening her grip slightly.

He appreciated the effort and also drove more passively then he normally would.

She loosened her grip as they reached a stop light and asked now that the sound was lower "Why don't you wear a helmet?"

He huffed "Do my quills look like they could fit in a helmet?"

She nodded. Unlike him her quills hung around her stayed close to her head, even when she fashioned them differently.

"So I assume you ride often?" she asked, if he was willing to ride without a helmet he had to be pretty confident in his abilities.

"I use it to pass a lot of the time" he nodded "I was actually heading out to the country when you saw me, it's quieter and less busy out there"

She wasn't able to answer back since the light changed green and she yelped grabbing him again to his slight annoyance.

She remembered what he said and loosened up again.

Shadow had to make a turn and yelled "Lean with for this turn"

She tried her best to do and Shadow adjusted a bit to make the turn and said "If I ever turn do that again"

He felt her head nod on his back still staying close to him so not to fall off.

The drive continued like that until he was on her street and stopped in front of her house and said "You can let go now"

She was shaking in the seat and got off feeling a bit sore heaving never rode one before. She then undid her helmet and took it off and said "Thanks" obviously a little shaken by the ride.

The hedgehog took it and said "No problem, the soreness will go away in a bit" she looked over so slightly different now for some reason, besides her messed up quills from the helmet. He didn't bother with it.

Amy nodded and thanked him again before walking back to the house.

Shadow watched then looked down to put the helmet away and noticed the flower from Amy's quills was in there and realized that was what he found different about her.

He looked back over to the house and said "Hey you forgot-" she was already inside and shrugged "It was just a stupid flower, why would she miss it?"

He shrugged putting the helmet back into the side bag and drove off.

Hours later…

It was getting dark and Shadow had been driving all day and was coming home. It was around 8 o'clock and Shadow stopped for gas finding himself hungry.

He knew of a place nearby and after filling up and paying through cash and drove there and went inside.

It was a diner and he sat down on one of the stools furthest away from everyone and waited for service.

He heard someone approach and looked up to see a face from earlier today "Amy?" he said surprised. When he heard she worked he didn't expect her to work here. Although he hadn't been here in awhile so she must have been new.

"Hey Shadow. I recognized that bike in the parking lot" she cheerfully said pulling out a pen and paper.

Ya well I just got back and needed something to eat" he quickly explained.

She guessed as much and said "Ya about that, you ready to order?"

He nodded placing an order and she turned and left.

He patiently sat there by himself just thinking about recent events and heard footsteps coming back and looked up again.

It was Amy again and asked "Need company, as you can see everyone has been served"

He shrugged, he didn't really care.

"How was the ride?" she started off.

"Relaxing" shifting in his seat since the longer rides still hurt his butt.

She noticed and said "So I guess even you still get off sore still?"

"After hours, yup" he nodded. This whole time he hadn't been looking at her since he was sitting and she was standing over him, he looked either at the counter, his hands on the counter or to the side.

She didn't care suspecting it had something to do with him being tired or more likely his loner attitude.

He was next to ask a question oddly taking the time to look up at her "So, what Sonic said, are you two really ok now?"

She thought about it but had her answer already "What Sonic said was true. I'm done with the old Amy and things are actually… better" she said trying to find a word but settled with that.

The black hedgehog was happy to hear that "Good to hear that"

She leaned down a bit to meet his gaze "Got to thank you for that a bit. That walk home and what you said helped a lot for me to decide and change"

He looked at her face, her smile a little infectious and he said after a short delay "Well… your welcome"

He looked to the side after that and tried to get her smiled out of his head.

"So you heading home after this?" she asked.

He nodded in response.

"I'm pretty sure my shift will be done when you are done then I'm heading home too"

Shadow looked up eyebrow raised "Someone picking you up?" since it was dark.

"Nah, I take the buses"

"You don't have a car or something?" he asked surprised. It wasn't exactly the nicest neighborhood.

"I can handle myself" she defended herself "I always got my hammer with me"

He shrugged "Alright then" he shrugged. He wouldn't argue.

There was a ring from the kitchen and the pink hedgehog went to get his food and returned back.

Shadow thanked her and started to eat and said "So how long you been here, last I was here you weren't?"

She thought back "Just after the sonic incident, in fact the next day"

He nodded but she asked "When was last you were here?"

"Over a month" he said in between bites.

Right after that she needed to attend to someone else who was paying and had to take his dishes. Shadow ate quickly when once she left and by the time she was back he too was done.

She took his plates and while she did that he got some bills to pay.

Right then her shift ended too and he walked out to his bike. She came out just as he did in a coat covering her work clothes and said "See ya around Shadow!" His reply was a simple lazy wave as he walked into the dark to his bike.

She on the other hand walked down the street to the bus stop and waited.

He was getting on and noticed a figure in the dark following her and watched intently just incase it just happened to be someone bad.

Sadly for the guy, he was bad pulling out a knife and stalking up behind Amy.

From his vantage he saw the guy suddenly speak startling her and probably was telling her to give her his purse.

That was when he turned on his bike and did a burn out to angle the bike into position and shot forward.

He drove down the side walk and leaned to the right slightly and right as he passed by he punched the guys head.

AHHH!" the mugger yelled stumbling to the right and on the street.

Shadow drifted around shooting forward again got ready mess this guy up bad. He pushed the bike as hard as he could and when he was a few seconds away from the guy he stood on the seat jerked right making it fall on its side now sliding across the ground. He hopped in the momentum of the bike carrying him forward in the air.

The bike hit the man first by half a second making him trip forward, his face colliding with Shadows coming foot very suddenly sending his body turning the other way in mid air.

Shadow soared past him as he flipped backwards bashing his head against the ground before thudding on the ground totally knocked out.

He slid landing and turned to Amy and said "Come on!"

She quickly recovered and ran over.

"Hand me your phone" he said.

"What, why?"

"Now!"

She did and he called 911. He didn't want the guy to die "Ya hello?... A guy just mugged someone and now he's on the floor. He's Barton and Gage on the road, hurry up" he hung up handing it back to Amy who took it.

He then ran to his bike and said "Come on!"

She followed as he propped the bike up again and grabbed the helmet for her tossing it to her as she approached.

"Why are we in such a hurry!" she said putting it on.

"We're really close to the local hospital and if they see me and ID me I'm gonna get a visit from government officials, or worse" as he brought the bike back to life and pulled her on the bike ad said "Hold on!"

The bike screeched in place for a second before it launching forward making Amy scream in terror holding his tightly.

"Cop response time is fast too considering the area we're in, my place is nearby. I hate to say it but you are coming with me" he yelled turning hard around a corner the sound of sirens already being heard.

"Damn it" he growled.

"We're taking a detour!" he yelled revving the engine hard and turned into the park cutting through it.

"SHADOW!" He heard Amy grabbing him with such force he felt like he'd suffocate.

"I got this!" he growled carefully steering over the grass so as not the crash. He made it across the park and said "Should be good now"

She didn't speak petrified to his back.

In a few minutes he drove into a parking lot and said "Ok, you can let go now"

She jumped off instantly throwing the helmet off and yelled "What was all that about! 

"I told you, if they police or anyone ID'd me the government would be on my ass" he said getting off his bike and taking the helmet to put it in the side bag. "I'm sorry I scared you"

"You did more then scare me!" she was still hysterical.

He rolled his eyes and said "Ya well you are staying with me tonight"

He was already walking to the building with his apartment.

She hesitantly followed but the neighborhood didn't seem to nice and staying outside didn't feel smart.

As they approached Amy managed to think and asked "So you want to keep your head down, how do you get away with having an apartment?"

"Fake name"

"What? They got to know right?"

"Course they do, apartments around here don't give a shit. Whatever name you give them as long as you pay" he explained.

She guessed that made sense and followed him inside.

He went upstairs to the second floor and went to his door. After opening it he let her in and said "Make yourself at home"

She looked around. It honestly wasn't much to look at, atleast size-wise. He kept the place quite well, apparently he took pride in keeping his home, no matter how lowly it was in tip top shape.

The dark hedgehog walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer popped the top off and went to his couch and sat down. Amy continued to walk around. The kitchen was average but around the tv room had almost nothing in it. No pictures or nothing.

"Seems kinda empty" she commented.

"What do ya mean, I got a couch, I got a tv, something for the tv to stand on and some cabinets" he said channel surfing.

"Ummm, but, pictures. Trinkets… stuff in general" she said trying to make him understand what she meant.

"I don't need stuff" the male said.

"Well… ok?" she said not sure what to say and so cautiously sat down on the opposite side of the couch.

Amy stayed quiet for awhile until she asked "So… I'm sleeping on the couch?"

He stayed quiet and after a silence said "No"

She looked him over slightly offended "Where then!?"

"My bed" he said simply.

"Wait what?" the pink hedgehog asked totally taken back by that.

He looked over at her and explained his reasoning "You are still shaken up from what happened and need a healthier place to sleep"

"I don't need-"

"Just take it before I regret giving away my nice bed" he sighed.

She looked away and said "It doesn't seem very fair to make you sleep on the couch in your home?"

I'm trying to be nice" he said finding it already hard enough to give up his bed.

Amy sighed but said "Well how big is the bed?"

He knew exactly what she was getting at "No, we're not sleeping in the same bed"

"Coe on it won't be that bad. You want me to sleep in a bed and I don't want to steal it, we compromise" she begged.

….

"Can't believe I agreed to this" he said standing outside his room while Amy quickly changed into something that would be easier to sleep in then her work clothes. That meant she was wearing something of his. Not that it was a problem but probably meant they'd be a bit loose.

He'd grabbed his pajama pants before she kicked him out and had changed as well.

He heard the door open and saw her again wearing one of his other pajama pants, which needed to be tightened as much as they could around her waist to stay on and a loose shirt.

She let him inside while he tossed his clothes he'd worn today in the hamper.

He'd also gotten an extra pillow for her and handed it to her. She accepted and went to the far side while went to the closer side.

She slid under the blankets followed by him and he turned to face away from her mostly because of how awkward this was and to give her some space.

"Good night Shadow, and thanks for letting me sleep here… OH and for saving me from that creep" she said suddenly flipping over and giving him a hug from behind and thankful peck on the cheek making him freeze in place. Since the light was off she didn't notice and went back to her side of the bed and soon fell asleep.

He stayed awake awhile feeling the blush in his cheek. He had no idea why he froze but it happened and at some point he fell asleep finally going limp when he did.

 **A/N Ok so that's done. I was having a blast writing this one, especially when Shadow kicked that guys ass, I was debating between that or another one where Shadow grabbed him by the collar and dragged him away from her and drove down the street dangling him like Marv from Sin city… wonder if anyone gets that reference.**

 **As for his get away it may have felt a bit over dramatic but Shadow is serious so don't question his ligic.**

 **Lastly thank you for reading this far if you have and I'll try to get the next one done soon. A lot of stuff on my plate lately though so it ay take longer then these two since I had literally nothing going on today.**

 **Finally send in them reviews if you want to send some words my way.**

 **Admiralkirk**


	3. This is who I am

**A/N Hey so this is chapter three, hope people are enjoying this so far.**

 **I can honestly say I'm sorta wining it as I go. Like I have general main ideas and then I wing it to put them together and throw smaller ideas in.**

 **And for any impatient people my updating can be super erratic. Maybe I'll get two chapters done very quickly sometimes I'll take a month so don't think I'm super reliable.**

In the morning Shadow woke groggy. He grunted not wanting to open his eyes. He almost allowed himself to get comfortable agai and sleep had it not been for something he remembered.

'It's pink… wait pink why would I bother with anything pink…. Uggg' he thought.

He heard something move slightly and breathe out slowly that wasn't him and his eyes shot open.

That was when he remembered what happened last night due to the face in front of him.

'Wait… infront? I feel asleep facing away?'

All the thoughts in his head made him oblivious to how close they were from eachother, about two inches.

"I must have turned in my sleep, I don't know about her though" he thought again then felt her breath on his face "Huh, we're so… CLOSE"

As he thought of this he jolted back a bit tipping off the bed "Damn it" he cursed rubbing his back.

The dark hedgehog slowly got up and stretched a second and looked back at the woman in his bed.

"She does look… peaceful" he shook his head from his staring and said to himself "That's a bit creepy…" he scratched his head and turned awkwardly and went to the kitchen.

He decided to make pancakes and started getting the mix ready. As he was doing this he heard a knock.

"Who could that be so early?" he asked but then realized "Wait did someone see me last night maybe that thief was able to remember who he was in the split second before his foot hit his face.

He approached the door cautiously hearing another knock and a familiar voice "Open the door Gloomy, I know you're in there. The floor is creaking"

Sometimes he hated how well she could hear as he opened it revealing Rouge.

Shadow opened it and said "Why are you here again?"

"A little birdy told me about a mugging gone wrong and that the small details matched your profile" she said a little disappointed by his carelessness.

He huffed but asked "So should I worry?"

"No, they still don't realize you live in the city. They think you took off out of town. So they are waiting again" the bat reassured.

Shadow let out a small sigh of relief and turned to her again "So is that all you wanted to ask?"

Rouge chuckled and walked into the room "I wanted to ask why it happened too. It's not like you to stop a mugging"

Shadow closed the door "I felt generous" he tried to pass that by.

She laughed "You? Generous? I highly doubt that. No you are wouldn't risk getting caught to be generous" she was suspicious of him now.

"Things happen" he said walking back to the kitchen to continue his pancakes.

She knew he wouldn't spill anything so sat down "Could you make some for me?"

"no"

"That's rude and besides we're friends" the bat said not actually offended.

He stayed quiet and said "Well… why are you still here?"

Rouge rolled her eyes now a little peaved off by him "Because maybe I have nothing to do and I wanted to talk?"

Shadow could feel the anger in her voice, he rarely got to hear that "Ya well I don't have time for you right now" knowing he'd have to get her out of the apartment before Amy woke up or he'd never live it down.

"Well I can atleast stay until you are done breakfast obviously" Rouge said making him roll his eyes. He was looking away at the counter so she didn't see.

"Fine" he said mixing faster, every precious second might help.

Rouge noticed his increase in speed and definitely knew something was up now and looked around.

When should couldn't seem to see anything from her vantage point she glared at him. He could feel the daggers pointing in the back of his head and she asked "Ok, what's up?" her tone making it clear it wasn't a casual question.

"Nothing is up?" he growled.

She crossed her arms "Why so defensive?" his growl a little aggressive.

"I'm not being defensive, you are just accusing me of things that aren't real" the dark hedgehog said slightly turning his head then back.

Rouge stayed quiet knowing prodding any further would get her booted out and not find out what was going on and styed quiet turning on the tv to watch something while he cooked.

That wasn't what he wanted, now there was even more noise to possibly wake his guest. He wondered if he just explained to Rouge she might not tease him as bad.

Unfortunately for him Amy moved his her slumber again making some noise that caught Rouges attention. Shadow not having as good of hearing didn't notice as he had started to pour the mix into the pan.

The bat looked back to his room and knew whatever he was hiding was in his room which narrowed down what it was a lot. If he was hiding this badly then it had be something juicy. To make it even better it sounded like something on the bed

"Does… he have a girlfriend?" she thought to herself.

He turned to see her in thought looking towards the room and gritted his "Persistent bat" he thought.

Shadow distracted her "So any possible job opportunities?" he arms crossed.

Her head turned quickly back to him "Oh, ya. Sorry, nothing yet. Why you getting low on cash?"

"I can survive another two weeks if I save properly" he said.

The bat knew she'd need to find work soon and nodded "Alright then I'll see if there's anything worth our time at all"

He nodded looking to see how the pancakes were and flipped them over.

He surprisingly asked "Anything going on with you, like, out of work?"

Rouge looked to him surprised; whatever he was hiding it was big "Well mostly just keeping in contact with my little birdies. Besides that I'm living well"

Shadow nodded "Should have expected as much. Found any trails of chaos emeralds?"

"Nope, whatever happened to them since we last used em either made them really hard to find or someone's gotten them before us somehow and stayed quiet" Rouge explained.

Shadow was glad he could keep some secrets from her. Unknown to her he had one of the emeralds just incase he needed it at some point.

Rouge leaned on her hand propping her head up and said "Everything has been really quiet lately. Hell, even Eggman has been down for a while. Government usually calls me when he's got something going on"

Shadow nodded knowing all this and tended to the pancakes putting them on a plate, he put butter on it, syrup and cut it up and walked over. He took a bite liking how well he'd done them and flipped the tv to news.

"-Last night a mugger attacked a woman but was brutally taken down by a dark individual. By the time the police showed up the figure was gone and the woman as well. All this information is all we know from the mugger himself, back to you Tim"

Shadow clenched his fists in anger, what terrible timing that was.

"That was you, where'd the woman go?" she asked devilishly almost certain what the sound was now.

"I don't know I drove off after that"

She crossed her arms "Then who's in your bedroom"

Shadow gasped which confirmed Rouges suspicions "You brought her home!? You never came off like that to me"

"It's not what you think!" he defended himself.

"Suuuuure, I totally believe you. What she look like?" she asked.

"If my luck keeps running like this you'll find out before you leave" the dark hedgehog groaned.

"So… you get some?" she asked.

"WHAT!?" he yelled seriously not expecting that question.

"Come on, she's in your bed and not on the couch" the bat said, the whole set up was under question now.

"Nothing happened. I offered to let her use my bed but she didn't want to be rude and made me sleep with her so we'd both get the bed" he explained not using Amy's name.

"Aww she sounds sweet. You should get her number" Rouge chuckled making him blush slightly.

She caught it but let him off the hook.

"I only brought her here because I needed to hide and sending her home would risk me being spotted more then the news already knows" he growled defending himself.

Rouge knew that was more then likely the actual reason but said "Sure, what kept you from just leaving her behind and telling her to be quiet about your identity? It's not odd for people to stay quite in that part of town?"

He stayed quiet then finally said "Didn't think of that"

Her ears flinched at that, he didn't have a reason for that? That was new.

Shadow continued to channel surf eating until they both heard someone lurch out of bed.

Rouge smirked "Finally, I thought I'd have to leave before she woke up"

Shadow groaned in anger and how unlucky he was. There was no escaping the fate he was about to suffer.

The door opened to reveal Amy rubbing her eyes still trying to wake up. Shadows loose shirt only hanging off one shoulder and the other shoulder exposed a bit cause the head hole was too large for her shoulders.

Rouge froze going wide eyed having never expected in a thousand years that one of Sonic friends would come out, especially Amy.

On the other side of the couch Shadow had his head in his hands leaning over and groaning.

"Morning… huh… Rouge?" Amy asking to make sure.

"Ya, ummm… hey Amy" Rouge said still flustered.

Amy nodded with a wave and said "Morning Shadow"

"Hey Amy" he sighed looking over slightly.

She sniffed the air and saw the pancakes he'd almost finished and said "Oh pancakes!" suddenly waking up fully.

"Oh ya. I was going to make some for you" the dark hedgehog replied Rouges head jerking to him now.

"You were actually gonna use your supplies for someone else?"

Shadow shrugged "It's breakfast, the most important meal of the day. I'm a dick but not that much of a dick" he smirked.

"Then what about me?" Rouge said huffing.

He rolled his eyes "I'm absolutely sure you ate something before you got here"

She crossed her arms since he was right.

Shadow finished off his pancakes right then and said "Alright Amy, I'll make you some and you can head home"

Amy smiled "Thanks Shadow, you don't have to you know"

"Hmph, fine then" he smirked.

"What!? I said you didn't have to I never said stop!" Amy yelled.

Shadow jolted back to work which made Rouge chuckle.

"So Amy, Shadow is being secretive. Hat happened last night"

Amy sat down on the couch fixing the shirt to be over both shoulders even though in a minute or two it'd be back hanging by one.

Shadow piped in just before she spoke "Please don't tell the part time government agent. She may be my friend but money motivates her more" it was a little harsh towards Rouge, but it wasn't like she hadn't proven it before,

Rouge scowled at him "Hey, come on Shadow. We're partners! That's what I get after these last five years of working together. I could turned you in years ago for a huge cash bounty but I didn't"

Amy looked to Shadow who was vigorously stirring his mix and said "Well if you must know, tell her Amy!" his anger had rose quite a bit. He knew what she just said was true and that he trusted her but he really didn't want her to know what happened.

Amy after a short pause to decide whether to do it finally explained.

Rouge listened intently through out the story and when it was all over Shadow was almost done with Amy's pancakes.

"Well I guess Shadow was around the right place at the right time"

Amy nodded though said "I was just about to reach for my hammer but, then he came down the sidewalk and did all the saving for me. Thanks again by the way"

Shadow was just finishing up preparing her food and walked over "No problem" he handed her the plate her paws brushing against his slightly in the exchange making him almost drop it but Amy caught it. It wouldn't have happen normally but Shadow had stopped wearing his white gloves.

"Sorry" Amy said knowing it could have easily been worse.

"N-no problem" he said quickly recovering. And sitting on his end of the couch. Making it now Rouge on the right, Amy in the middle and Shadow on the left.

They continued to watch tv eventually stopping on morning cartoons because Amy had taken the remote if he tried to change.

After a bit Rouge finally got up and said "Well I think I'll go and fly on out of here"

Shadow looked over and got up to lead her out but she stopped at the door turning with a smirk.

She whispered "You better watch out Shad, remember what happened to last guy who saved her… and she just got over him" she teased. After that she said aloud not allowing him to speak back "I'll let you know once I find a job for us"

The bat quickly opened the door and left closing it before Shadow could. He gritted his teeth at her comment but dismissed it.

He walked back to the couch and sat down again seeing Amy was almost done.

Amy was next to speak "These are really good. What's the mix?"

Shadow said "Just the average store brand. I follow the instructions to the letter"

"Hmmm, should ask Vanilla to buy this brand" as she took another bite.

He vaguely remembered that being Creams mom and nodded "So when you leave you're gonna take the bus back?"

"Yup, once I get dressed I'll be out of your quills"

He looked back to the tv and asked "You got plans today" this time keeping his view to the tv.

"Not really. Probably find someone to hang out with" the woman was already trying to figure out who to hang with.

He huffed and noticed her done and grabbed the plate throwing it in the dishwasher.

By the time he turned he heard his bedroom door close, obviously Amy going to change. Shadow sat down continuing to watch tv until he heard the door open again. He turned his head to see her back in her work outfit and putting on her jacket s well.

"So I guess I'll see you around then" she gave a weak wave and thankful smile.

He almost let her go but then said "Wait, I didn't go through all of last night to have you attacked again. Give me a sec" he turned off the tv and went to his room quickly changing back to yesterdays attire and came out.

Amy wasn't sure why he was still helping her but to be honest she appreciated it a lot. She didn't like the neighborhood. Plus he was opening up a bit and wondered if maybe she could get him to be around more with her friends. He might be semi normal some day.

He passed by and grabbed his black and red jacket and opened the door leading her out. When she had he locked the door and went downstairs to the parking lot the pink hedgehog behind him the whole way.

He went into the side back and handed her the helmet like every other time and hopped on followed by her. "Don't worry, it won't be as intense as yesterday"

"I truly hope not" she muttered as he turned on the bike and drove off. To his surprise she wasn't grabbing him tightly but more like just holding his sides close to his waist. He guessed after last night she didn't find normal speed to be as scary.

The drive was quite and Shadow knew of a few detours to avoid the early morning traffic and within half an hour he was back on Amy's street.

He stopped and parked in front of her house… well Vanillas house.

"Well we're back"

She hopped off and said "Ya I'm sure Vanilla and Cream are worried where I am" taking her helmet off and handing it back to the hedgehog.

He took it with a grunt to her statement and turned to put it in the side bag. When he opened it he noticed red on the bottom and remembered she'd lost her flower.

He shrugged and grabbed it and turned "Hey!"

She turned halfway to the house "Hmm?"

"You flower was in the helmet first time you used it. You want it back?" he said revealing it in his hand making sure to be gentle.

She was surprised he took the time to give her it but trotted back and said "Thanks Shadow" she took it back their hands touching again and he pulled it back quickly rubbing it with the other. She didn't notice and said "Well see you around Shadow. Thanks again" skipping to the door and disappeared inside.

He put the helmet away as his pants vibrated. He pulled out his phone expecting it to be Rouge with a job finally.

"Unknown text?"

"Hey Shadow, I quickly added you on my phone too. If you didn't guess it's me Amy"

"How the hell?"

"Sorry if that isn't k with you. You left it next to the bed and I just did it"

he growled but texted back

Yes, it's k- Shadow

He then set the unknown number to her name and text back again

Just cause you have my number doesn't mean anyone else needs to know or have it. Got it?- Shadow

Yes I understand, I would never dream of sharing your number. As for stay quiet. Good thing you told me now- Amy

He sighed glad he'd let her know and got another text

Oh hey, could you leave? I'm not angry with you it's just Vanilla wants you to go… I don't know why. Maybe it's because it's you and what you've done before- Amy

He was slightly offended but who gave a shit what she thought. He obviously wasn't wanted here and drove off but left a skid mark on the driveway as a goodbye gift.

In the house…

"Good he's gone" the older rabbit said.

"That's not very nice Vanilla. He's not that bad" Amy defended the dark hedgehog.

"I don't trust him" the older woman crossed her arms.

"He saved me from a mugger last night!" Amy revealed.

Vanilla gasped kneeling down "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine" She defended again "Thanks to what he did and even then I'm able to handle myself. I'm a grown up now"

Vanilla just said "I told you to leave that job" Guessing it happened on her way home.

"I like it there. The people are nice. The pay is fair and the bus rides aren't too long" she said arms crossed.

"But it's dangerous going home. I told you the day you went there that this would happen and look two weeks later" Vanilla chastised.

"You are not my mom remember?" Amy said not being harsh. She was always like a second mother to her and practically raised her as well next to her daughter Cream.

She sighed "I know… but I was always more of a parent then your real mom"

Amy looked away frowning since it was true. In fact she hardly knew he mom, she practically grew up on her own once she entered school. So when Vanilla welcomed her into the family it was one of the happiest days of her life.

The hedgehog said "And I thank you for it. But know I can handle myself ok?"

Vanilla sighed knowing Amy was too stubborn and nodded "If you ever want someone to come pick you up you can always call me"

"I wouldn't want to be a bother. You got your own job that you need to go to" Amy smiled.

"That's kind of you dear but seriously, remember that. Now do you you want something to eat?"

Amy shook her head "No I'm good, Shadow made me pancakes" walking to her room to change.

"He made you pancakes?" Vanilla asked having never guessed he of all people to do that.

Elsewhere…

"Uggg, what a night" Shadow groaned driving down the road.

"Amy nearly gets mugged, I almost get caught, and to top it all off Rouge will have something to tease me with for months"

He felt his pocket vibrate again and was reminded of the other thing "Oh and Amy of all people has my number now"

He stopped at a light and read the new text.

Sorry about Vanilla. She's just a bit older then us, obviously, hope she didn't hurt your feelings- Amy

Well she did, he was a tough guy, quiet and what some would call mean. But he wasn't a man to not be trusted. For god sake he saved the world from alien invaders and helped save the world other times too. If he hadn't earned the trust of people by now he almost regretted not letting Black Doom destroy the world.

Still he liked the planet, he really did. It was everything Maria had said it would be and more. The one and only flaw was the humans and how they still didn't trust him.

He sighed, he felt he'd be forever shunned by the world. He hated it and wished he could somehow show them he wasn't a threat. He doubted they'd ever care anyway. He was the ultimate life form. Any normal person would feel threatened by their better. What happened to the lesser species before humans? They died out. Sometimes by their better cousins. He was the homo sapiens, they were the Neanderthals. Atleast that's how he saw it.

Sometimes he wished he wasn't who he was. Be semi normal atleast. Maybe he'd have friends? Maybe he'd be social able… but he couldn't. He wanted to…. But he just couldn't. The dark and twisted version of the heroes dilemma. Anyone could hurt them for any number of reasons. Whether it be someone he pissed off or the government.

He couldn't change now though, he had a reputation, and he'd simply gotten used to it and it was just who he was now. Nobody liked him of the people he knew besides Rouge and they barely talked as it was. He doubted she'd miss him too long anyway. He ran his fingers along the bridge of his nose.

"Alone… forever alone"

Once again not because he wanted to, but because people died around him. First Maria and the people of the ARK, then the world because of a deal he was passively apart of. He brought death to everyone.

But there was the other option… end it all. He'd sat in his apartment once or twice alone for hours staring at a gun and a bullet. Sadly he made a promise to Maria, and even that was inescapable.

"Immortal"

The word repeated in his mind several times. He would live forever. Which brought even more problems. It meant he couldn't escape his promise unless someone killed him and that might never happen.

"I'm the ultimate life form"

That still wasn't the end of his problems. Why make any meaningful relationships if he'd just out live everyone… especially if it was someone he came to… love. To watch his loved one age and eventually die while he stayed like this way forever.

He sadly sighed as the light changed green and drove forward and thought.

"Sadly…. This is who I am"

 **I thought that was a good spot to end. Get to see why Shadow is anti social and pushes people away. Besides that I liked the rest of it too and I hope you guys do too. Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	4. Offer a helping hand

**A/N Hey so I'm having lots of fun writing this. Even the dark depressing part at the end of chapter 3. But I'm trying my best to type a lot now since I am about to start my hard week of night shifts. So thank you for your patience when it arrives.**

 **P.S If anyone would explain to me, can Shadow teleport with or without the chaos emeralds. Or if he can do short blinks without one but further ones require one. Let me know. I know he can do a few of his abilities without the emeralds like chaos control and chaos spear but this one I don't know for sure.**

Shadow leaped from building to building, his rocket skates propelling him forward. His shear speed allowing him to bound across streets with ease. If he encountered a building higher then the one he was one he'd jump and fire his rocket skates at full blast to get the height. If needed more height he did short teleports directly above himself and his momentum coming out of the blink would propel him forward.

Eventually he reached the highest building in the city and blinked to the top. He hung off the side of the antenna at the top over looking the city. All the noise of the city was completely gone. Only the sound of the wind from being so high up.

It had been a week since he helped out Amy with that Mugger and things had been pretty quiet. Still nothing from Rouge which was starting to worry him.

"Only a weeks money left" he said to himself "What can I do if she doesn't find anything?"

He was broke from his thoughts from a phone call "Finally Rouge!"

His free hand reached for his phone but sighed seeing it was Amy.

He answered "What Amy?" he kinda hoped his answer would make her go away.

"Hey Shadow, what's up?" her cheerful voice asked.

He rolled his eyes "Just out exercising"

"oh, was that you jumping across buildings?" she asked innocently having seen him a few minutes ago.

"Yes"

"Hmmm, let me see if I can see you…. Hmmm there's a speck on the Westopolis building that's never been there before?"

He chuckled and said "Well since you are watching…" he let go of the antenna and dove down head first phone still against his ear.

"What are you doing!?" he heard her scream over the wind passing by him.

"Calm down" he said casually looking around wondering if he could spot her before he had to stop.

"Shadow you're falling!"

"I told you I'm fine. Where are you?" she was obviously in sight distance or she couldn't see him.

"Shadow! Do whatever you are going to do before you hit the ground!"

He laughed now spinning around until he saw a speck of pink down the street and smirked.

"See ya in a sec"

He put his phone away. And looked down focusing on timing this perfectly. The wind flew past his face and the ground rapidly got close.

"3….2….1!" he yelled to himself counting and suddenly flashed and disappeared and inch from the ground.

He appeared next right beside Amy. He aimed the blink back upwards so the momentum of his fall sent him upwards, stop in mid air for a second them fell again. With a thud and grunt he landed next to the pink hedgehog who had jumped backwards from his landing a smirk plastered on his face.

"Told you I had it handled" he gloated.

"SHADOW!" she said pushing him "Don't scare me like that!"

He chuckled finding it amusing that she cared so much but then wondered why. He didn't ask though.

"You jerk" she whined.

"Meh, I do it all the time… maybe not that close to the ground but ya" he said looking away nose raised high like he thought he was better then her. Though he clearly did it over dramatically to show he meant no harm.

She rolled her eyes at him but said "So, with your stunt out of the way. What's up?" her cheerful self back again.

He shrugged "Not much. Still slowly going broke from lack of work" he acted cool like this happened a lot and he worried even though he was getting worried.

She frowned "What happens if you don't get any work soon?"

He shrugged "I can live in the forest by myself pretty ok until then"

"What, that's not good. I bet Sonic or somebody would let you live with them… wait… how about Rouge?" Amy said remembering him and Sonic didn't get along for long periods of time.

He laughed out loud "Like Rouge would tell me where she lives" knowing full well she was extremely secretive of her life.

"Oh… well I'd ask Vanilla to let you crash on the couch but she doesn't like you" she frowned knowing it probably hurt his feelings.

He grunted shrugging but added "I don't need your pity"

Frowning she looked down "Just wanted to help"

He looked away feeling something in his chest… he couldn't pin down what it was but he didn't like it. He was about to slightly take back what he said but thought about what he had been thinking about a few days ago.

"Forever alone…" the words rung in his head again.

He turned back to the sad pink hedgehog "I wouldn't want to be a burden"

She looked up "But you wouldn't. Vanilla and I both work and we can easily make enough money to keep you under the roof"

He stayed quiet, at this point is the most reasonable and easy option he had left but said "Why don't we wait until the end of the week before I make a decision" his arms crossed subconsciously trying to protect himself from getting to attached to the idea and stuff.

She nodded finding that to be reasonable but said "But just incase, come to the house and speak with Vanilla. I know she'll change her mind when she sees you aren't as bad as she thinks you are" her hopeful attitude showing.

She sighed but she had a point. Better to have a plan ready and not need it then need it and not have it. He nodded agreeing and said "Alright… maybe I'll stop by sometime later"

She shook her head "No, do it now. Vanilla is home today so come on"

He groaned but said "FINE!" walking to the bike almost forgetting he needed her to beg for a place to stay.

She didn't even care he yelled and skipped after him "So where'd you park the bike anyway?"

"About a mile away" he said his temper down for now.

"Yu ran more then that though right?"

"Ya, I was going for about an hour until you called" he quickly explained.

"Wow, that's a lot of stamina" she praised inflating his ego.

"Well I am the-"

"Ultimate lifeform" they said in unison throwing him off slightly.

She giggled at his expression and said "I just guessed" although it was a very educated guess he would say that.

He looked away when she giggled not liking being made a fool of, even if it was on the smallest way possible.

"Hey mind if I ask something a bit… ummm classified?" Amy asked.

"Depends on how classified" he grunted.

"Well… what have been some of your jobs with Rouge, I know they aren't on the right side of the law but, like… specifics?"

He thought, trying to think of one not too bad and said "Do you remember two years back, a jewelry store just down the street was taken for literally everything? Ya, that was us" He smirked remembering that day.

They had stolen everything, mostly cause Rouges asked. They had barely escaped and made a lot of money that day. He was good for months after that.

"You stole everything?" she asked surprised.

"Yup even the safe in the back. Had this pretty tiara on there. Bet you'd have liked it" he smiled hands in his pockets. Because it was hot out and he had been running and stuff he was wearing black sweat pants and a crimson t-shirt. Like his last shirt it was cut to show off his chest fur. He did that actually because it felt uncomfortable under the shirt being pressed against it. Made him sweat a bit.

"What'd it look like?" she asked interested now.

"Hmmm, it was silver and had gems encrusted on it, Then this big diamond on the tip on the middle in the shape of a heart. You can see why Rouge went to so much trouble to get it out. The safe was so strong we needed explosives. You can tell why we almost got caught now" he explained the story.

"Wow, how much did it cost?" Amy asked impressed.

"Oh about…" he shifted his hand left and right showing he was making a educated guess from what he could remember "About, $10,000… maybe more"

"DAMN!" she said surprised and actually cursing.

Shadow looked at her even more surprised and asked "Excuse me?"

She looked away blushing at her slip "Sorry"

"No, it's cool. Just didn't know you had it in you" he chuckled amused now.

Amy blushed again her hands fidgeting behind her back "Well… we all break our molds sometimes" she said.

He felt that that statement was aimed at more then just herself but just nodded.

He managed a smile wanting to ask this question "What was another time you broke you mold?"

She thought trying to think back and said "Hmmm, I worked hard to keep Birdie alive even though I could have chased after Sonic" she said proud of herself on that one.

"Birdie?" he asked.

"Long story, before we met you" she dismissed it.

He shrugged but had a feeling she'd ask him the same question back.

And she did "What about you?"

He thought trying to think of a smartass answer to avoid having to think of a real time "Well when I lost my memory that can technically be considered-"

"DON'T CHEAT!" she yelled.

He jumped back slightly but sighed and thought for real "OH, those stupid boarding tournaments… I actually had… fun doing that" he said with a small smile.

"Oh you did?" she asked glad to hear he even had the capacity to have fun in the first place.

"Yes" he rolled his eyes scratching the back of his head feeling nervous suddenly when she laughed.

"What the hell is happening to me, I'm actually enjoying this talk" he thought to himself.

She hummed a random tune as they rounded a corner to reveal his bike. The scratches from sliding across the pavement still on it. He didn't have the money to spare to fix it right now.

He asked trying to get out of this "Do I have to go beg Vanilla to let me stay there" he hated begging… ironically he was begging her not to make him go.

Her pushy attitude showed and she put her hands on her hips "No you are going, and I'll be right behind you… on the bike" then grabbed and pinched his ear like a child pulling him to the bike. He barely kept his balance since she pulled his head downwards a bit.

"DAMN IT! STOP THAT HURTS" he growled his hands waving around.

"That's the point dumby" she said smirked suddenly throwing him to the bike and said "Get on" dead serious.

He was actually frightened by her and did as she said getting the helmet for her.

Her cheerful face was back on as she took it and said "Good boy" patting his head like a dog once she got on the back.

He sighed in annoyance but drove off to her house.

On the way there Amy said "Now remember be nice! If Vanilla actually decides to listen tell her you'll do chores or something"

"I'm not doing chores" he growled.

"Listen dumby, you got no money and a bad reputation. You either kiss some butt or sleep outside" She said to the stubborn man.

He rolled his eyes but knew she was right and said "Fine…"

They arrived on front of the house and Shadow got off the bike and approached the door.

He was about to ring the doorbell but thought Amy would just open it for him and let him in. He looked to his side…. Then the other and noticed her not there.

Shadow turned and saw Amy leaning on the bike waiting for him to do it and gave flicked her wrist at him like she were saying "Well, let's go"

He gritted his teeth clenching his fists and growled quietly "Damn it Amy"

Finally sighing and calming down by taking a few deep breaths he rang the doorbell, quickly checking his breath incase it smelt like crap.

In a few moment Vanilla appeared. Thanks to the last five year Shadow now matched her height. She was wearing her normal clothing.

"Uhhhh… hi" he said not sure how else to open the conversation.

She crossed her arms "What are you doing here?" obviously not happy to see him.

He mumbled "This was a stupid idea" all ready to give up.

"What idea?" the rabbit asked suspicious eyebrow raised suddenly looking very intimidating.

If it had been anyone else their ears would have curled back in fear but he simply took a step back "Well… ummm" he scratched the back of his neck nervously "Amy…" he pointed back with his thumb ""She suggested I ask you this"

"You have yet to ask me anything" she pointed but noticed Amy back there who waved like nothing weird was happening at all. Vanilla ignored her for now looking back at the hedgehog obviously trying to re-orient himself to ask his question.

"Ok… I haven't any work awhile and I'm a week away from being unable to pay for my apartment… Amy said maybe I could stay here a bit until I make some money" he felt so embarrassed that he had to explain he had no money and beg for a place to stay "But! I mean I don't mean right now, I mean if it comes to that by the end of the week… and assuming you say yes" he looked down at his feet still scratching his head.

"You don't have any money?" Vanilla asked hedgehog who always seemed so in control and was now suddenly down on his luck.

He nodded.

"Hmmm… well… why did you ask your bat friend… umm Rouge is her name?" the rabbit asked.

He sighed "Ya… Amy asked me this too, I don't know where she lives and even if I did she wouldn't let me. Too secretive"

"I'd ask why not stay with Sonic but I know you are not able to stay around him too long"

He nodded to that too.

Shadow tried to get out of this awkward moment by saying "I don't want to be a bother. I've lived in the wilderness for weeks and-"

"Quiet" she stopped him "You can do chores right?"

He nodded after a moment.

"And good with your hands?" she asked.

He gave her an odd look, why was this single mother asking him that… at her front door?

She lightly smacked him "Get your head out of the gutter. Are you good with cars and stuff?"

He rubbed his head but nodded, he worked on his bike all the time.

"Good. You can move in today" she smiled.

"W-what? I said I would wait until the end of the week?" he looked at her oddly again.

"Nonsense. I have a problem that needs fixing now. Sooner you are here the sooner it's fixed and it's doesn't hurt somebody" she said obviously feeling a bit like she outsmarted him a little.

"I can't just pack up all my stuff and come here, all I have is my bike?" he said trying his best to avoid this.

"Nonsense, you live in apartment. Just let Amy drive my car. You can fit everything in there right?" she smirked.

He sighed nodding "Luckily the plates in the kitchen are the apartment owners"

"Good, Amy! Drive him back to his place and help him unpack!" she yelled grabbing her keys afterwards and tossing them to her.

"Alright Vanilla, we'll be back soon!" he said waving cheerfully and walking to her car.

Shadow was still trying to wrap his head around what the hell just happened, his eye twitched as he turned to get to the car.

Vanilla popped out the door again and said "Oh and the problem I mentioned has something to do with the car so don't push it too hard!"

Shadow cursed "Damn woman is making us drive in a potential death trap"

"Hey, I heard that" Vanilla yelled closing the door showing off her superior hearing.

He clenched his fists growling but walked faster the car and got in the passenger side closing the door.

"See not so hard" Amy smirked backing out of the driveway.

"That was far from easy" he said staring out the window looking to his bike which he guessed would be parked here for awhile now.

"Could have been worse. She could have just slammed the door in your face" she looked at the bright side.

"That 'would' have been easier" he pouted crossing his arms.

"Stop being a baby and be thankful you got a place to stay" she said not appreciating his attitude.

He huffed but said no more.

The drive was quiet to his place; Amy knew saying anymore would result in yelling or something worse.

The duo reached the parking lot outside the apartment building and Amy said "Well let's get started"

He nodded walking to the front door and told the front desk he was moving out and did all the paper work. Luckily today was the day he payed the bills so he wasn't breaking any lease contract bullshit.

"Moving in with the girlfriend?" the front desk guy asked.

"What?" Shadow asked jerking his head up from the papers.

"Just saying, she's looks good. How does a guy with your attitude get that?" he asked.

He sighed shaking his head hands dragging down his eyebrows in frustration "No, she's not my girlfriend. She's a friend who offered to let me stay at her place since I'm nearly out of cash"

"Oh… well…awkward"

"You have no idea" he sighed angrily.

He smashed the pen on the desk when he was done and said "We'll be done quickly" then went upstairs where Amy already was, thank god she didn't hear that.

He met her at the door and used the key for possibly the last time and said "Well let's hurry"

Amy walked in and started working and said "Wish Silver was here. His telekinesis would allow him to carry anything with ease"

"Better idea. Put everything you can in a box" he said taking a cardboard box.

Amy looked up not knowing what he had planned but shrugged and did as he asked. "As heavy as you want" he said not caring how heavy the box was.

She soon had stuff which was mostly from his room and he picked up the box and walked to the window. He opened the curtains since he needed line of sight. Then with a flash he was gone.

Amy walked to the window guessing what he had planned now ad saw him standing by the car. He looked back up at her from down there and motioned for the trunk.

She pulled out the key fob and hit the trunk button and within a moment he was putting the stuff in the back.

He appeared next to her again in a flash and said "Alright we'll keep that up. Probably inly another box or two and my clothes" he said already going to grab his big back to put the stuff inside.

Using that same formula they were done in less then twenty minutes. He reappeared back in the apartment.

Amy said "Ok then, wanna head down downstairs and give the guy his key" pointing with her thumb to the door.

He shook his head "In a sec"

He suddenly wrapped arm around her stomach and smirked seeing her surprised face. They blinked away in a flash ending up next to the car.

Amy's quills were now messed up even standing up now and when he let go of her she started wobbling.

"Uhhhh" she groaned holding her head leaning against the car.

"Hmmm, last time I did that it wasn't that bad for the passenger…. Well maybe it's because I had a few chaos emeralds to stabilize it out" he said aloud scratching his chin.

"Well I'll be back in a sec, try not to throw up" he smirked finally getting a little revenge for all the humiliation he suffered today.

She didn't respond as he walked away besides more groans.

He walked inside and the front desk guy looked surprised "But you… went… up?"

"Ya, whatever, don't over think it. Here's the key" he said placing it on the counter and turning not letting the guy say bye.

Outside Amy was recovering but not as fast as he hoped and said "Do I need to drive?"

She nodded holding out the keys making a sickly noise.

He took them and went to the driver side and she stumbled to the other side.

Once inside he had to remind her of her seat belt to which she barely managed to lock.

He felt a bit bad now, she seemed really messed up now "You gonna be ok?" he asked adjusting the mirrors.

She just made another sickly noise again "So glad I didn't eat a big breakfast"

He shrugged and drove nice for her and she stayed quiet for the trip.

"Sorry. I really didn't think it would hit you that hard" He apologized.

"It's alright. I'm getting better now" as she sat up straight "Just don't do that again please" to which he agreed. But if it was that bad maybe next time he got into a fight with Sonic he could do that. It'd be like an instant knock out.

For the rest of the ride they were quiet. Shadow remembered there was a problem with the car and used the silence to listen for any abnormalities.

He heard a soft whine, and also whenever he hit the gas a bit too hard he could feel the belt slip.

He knew for sure about the belt, but the whining sound could be any number of things. He checked the dials and noticed the engine was a hotter then normal. Usually the cooling system kept the heat down but it was higher "Hmm, maybe one of the coolant pipes is letting out air"

He decided that was the most logical answer and remembered it so he could tell Vanilla later.

They soon reached the house and he backed into the driveway so the trunk would be closer to the door. Not that half the stuff was going in the house. He was just gonna dump half the crap in the garage. Where was he gonna put his stuff in their house?

Vanilla must have been waiting cause she appeared at the door and walked over to Amy's side but gasped seeing the state she was in.

"Jesus Christ Shadow. I know you probably lived at that apartment awhile but seriously you left with a bang" she knew it wasn't that but she seriously did look like she had just been through a really good time. Had it been a few minutes earlier she'd have looked sick but now her quills were standing on end still.

Shadows heart skipped a beat "NOTHING HAPPENED!"

"Ow" Amy groaned rubbing her temples.

Vanilla giggled "If it had, that would have been damn fast"

"GOD DAMMIT!" Shadow yelled leaving the car to the trunk.

Both girls giggled though.

"Just teasing" Vanilla chuckled having some fun.

He just growled opening the trunk and taking the first box and going inside.

Vanilla turned "So what really happened?"

She said sighing not wanting to think about it "He teleported us from the room to the car and when we arrived I was super sick feeling"

"Oh, ok then" not even questioning that Shadow could teleport.

Amy got out of the car and said "I'm gonna go fix my quills"

Vanilla nodded waiting outside for Shadow to come back.

When he did she asked "So when can you check out the car?"

He walked by to get the next box "I did. On the drive back and figure out the basics. The belt is slipping and your coolant system has a leak along it somewhere" walking to the house with another box.

"How'd you figure all that out" Vanilla asked.

He turned walking backwards as he reached the steps "Cause I'm amazING!" he tripped going up the stairs landing on his butt still holding box and growled in pain, frustration and embarrassment.

Vanilla burst out laughing "Yes, SOOOOOOO amazing!"

He growled more gritting his teeth but got up and went up the stair normally and went inside mentally wanting to hit himself.

He unloaded everything from the car including his clothes staying quiet not wanting to be humiliated again any time soon if he could help it.

Vanilla was getting ready to make dinner as they heard the door open "See ya Tails!"

The door closed as Cream walked into the kitchen and froze seeing the black hedgehog.

He turned feeling the awkward stare.

"Mr Shadow?" she asked trying to ask if her eyes were tricking her.

"Ya that's me" he grunted crossing his arms.

Vanilla rolled her eyes and said "Shadow will be staying here for awhile and helping out around the house"

"Stay here?" she asked confused.

"He down on his luck and needs a place to stay. He promised to be helpful in exchange for the couch to sleep on.

Shadow nodded confirming.

"Oh… ok, welcome to the house Mr Shadow!" Cream said smiling before going upstairs.

He growled, he wasn't a mister.

Vanilla said "We're having Pasta and sausage tonight. You good with that?"

"Yes that's fine, thank you" Shadow said turning keeping his manners.

"Good" Vanilla said turning back to her work and left Shadow to his devices.

He took the opportunity to get to know the house and learn where everything was. He had seen the front hall, the kitchen, the living room just outside. Behind the living room was there the stairs. He guessed a bathroom was u there, and ateast three bed rooms.

He went up there to make sure and like he had suspected, three bed rooms. One was occupied by Cream so he didn't disturb her and the bathroom was also taken as he heard "Dammit, stay down!" obviously Amy was having a hard time getting her quills down again.

He went back downstairs and found the bathroom there too. A small closet with stuff in it like the vacuum. A few other rooms one of which had a desk and computer in it.

Finally he went downstairs to the basement. He immediately noticed it was an unfinished basement but the only unfinished part was the laundry room. Deeper in the basement was another TV room. He noticed the couch was actually a futon. Perhaps he was would sleep here. But Vanilla did say couch so maybe it was the one upstairs. Not that it mattered.

This room also felt like the room that any of Amy's or Cream friends would hang out in. Especially since this TV had an Xbox and PlayStation connected to it.

He took his leave and went back upstairs having only one other place to check and that was the backyard.

He walked out the backyard. He saw it was fairly spacious. Plenty of room, with a fairly large garden going along the fence. Plus some chairs and umbrella on a concrete circle in the middle right of the backyard.

He nodded and walked back inside.

As he did he heard someone coming downstairs and saw Amy, finally her quills fixed "Was it really that hard?" he asked.

"Yes it was Shad, like super static or something" she whined.

"Eh, well live and learn" she shrugged jokingly.

She scoffed her rolling her eyes "Shut up, my quills are hard to shape"

Shadow just laughed "Have you seen mine. How do you think I keep them like this? I can tell you it isn't natural"

"Well… I thought it stayed like that since you were born that way"

"Nope. Every few days I got to use some gel to help it stay up. Showers quicken the process though. Even though when my quills dry they relatively turn back to this" Shadow explained running a hand down his quills like a his fingers were a brush.

Amy rolled her eyes at him and said "So you walked around already" which made him nod.

"Good, you like it?"

He nodded "It's nice. Vanilla does good for herself"

"Thank you Shadow" she said from the kitchen.

Shadow then looked to Amy and said "So she's making dinner, what do we do until then?" he wasn't used to this whole sharing the house thing.

"We could watch tv. Or just sit outside in the sun and talk?" she offered.

Shadow thought and said "Why not go outside… will Cream join?" just a innocent question.

"No she's got work to do" Amy said.

He nodded "Right the school thing"

They walked outside and sat on the patio chairs.

"So do you have work again tonight?" Shadow asked.

Amy sighed "Yes, unfortunately"

"Hope it goes better then last night" he said wishing her luck.

"Me too" she sighed looking into the sky.

Shadow just got comfortable and looked around "Who's the gardener?" noting the big garden.

"Vanilla and Cream. It's like there mother and daughter thing" Amy said smiling at the flowers.

Shadow hummed in response and leaned back, hands linked behind his head enjoying the rays. He sighed with content.

Amy watched smiling at how relaxed he looked. In fact she got a devilish idea.

She slowly leaned forward making no noise and suddenly reached for his sides and started tickling them.

His eyes shot open as he gasped but then just them laughing and tried desperately to get her off him but the tickling made it super hard.

"G-get hahahaha OFF!" he yelled trying to push her off. His legs kicked in the air as he slipped deeper into the chair in vain to escape.

"You didn't say the magic word!" she yelled avoiding his hands and feet getting more vicious.

"No, I refuse to!" he yelled not giving in.

"SAY THE MAGIC WORD!"

"I'll…hahahaha, give you… magic words! CHAOS CONTROL"

She heard the words and before she knew it she was in her chair on her back and him above her tickling her now in retaliation.

"NO, NO FAIR!"

He smirked evilly "You said the magic words!"

"No, no stop"

"Huh what was that, I couldn't hear ya!?" he tilted his head to acting like he was trying to hear better.

"Dammit!, p-please!"

He stopped instantly panting slightly and said "Good girl" and patting her head like she had before.

She shuddered coughing slightly and said "That… wasn't… fair!" catching her breath in between words.

"Use what you can get Rose" he smirked sitting down again with a smirk on his face.

She was about to protest when Vanilla peaked out "Who was that laughing with you Amy?"

"Shadow, obviously?"

She feigned ignorance "Wait… he can laugh?" then chuckled with Amy who found it funny too. Shadow crossed his arms rolling his eyes and looking away.

"Aww come on we're just messing around Shadow" cooing him back.

"Hmph" he said purposely being stubborn.

Amy glared at him and got up and walked to where he was facing.

Shadow just turned his head in another direction. She jumped in his way and and he just looked forward eyes closed. She growled and grabbed his head pulling it back and looking down at him but his eyes were closed. A smirk plastered on his face.

She scoffed rolling her eyes and knew if she let go of his head he'd just place it back in it's original position and tried to think.

"Give up yet?" he asked.

"No"

She stared down at the stubborn hedgehog and slid a hand under his chin keeping his head back and with the other proceeded to try and pry an eye open. He resisted either by trying to pull his head back down or shaking his head to keep her fingers away from his face.

"Stop resisting!" she growled.

"Just give up" he chuckled calmly.

"Like hell!" she said getting rougher.

He yawned bored now and just pushed her hand away from his chin allowing his head to drop again.

Amy panted the effort having taken a lot out of her and said sitting down "Fine… be that way"

He smirked and opened his eyes again knowing he won.

He got comfortable again and just chilled in the sun with Amy until they heard Vanilla yell from the door "Ok, guys. dinners ready"

They both hopped out of their chairs. Amy ran ahead while Shadow calmly walked inside. Inside he saw Vanilla and Cream had set the table and were sitting down as Amy was. He calmly followed and sat at one of the seats at the side but Vanilla said "You can sit at the head of the table"

He paused "You sure?"

She shrugged with a smile "What can I say, I'm a stickler for tradition. Oldest man at the head of the table" she was obviously trying to be nice so he took it and sat down.

The pasta and sausage were passed around, along with cooked carrots. Cream took a nice scoop of that, as it was expected.

Shadow tried not to take too much pasta and two sausages, since they were kinda small, like everyone else. He then got some tomato sauce for his food and finished it off sprinkling Parmesan cheese on it and waited for everyone else to be ready to eat.

He was about to reach when he thought was done when noticed Cream, Vanilla and Amy heads down hands clasps together.

"I'm sorry?" trying not to be rude for his apparent ignorance.

Vanilla smiled but said "Sorry Shadow, I just like to do grace. If you don't mind"

He nodded realizing what they wanted and shook his head "No of course not" he said mimicking them.

Vanilla almost had asked him to do the honors but he obviously didn't do that since he didn't immediately recognize what they were doing.

"Thank you for the food we are about to eat. And thank you for allowing Shadow to be present tonight. Thank for leading Shadow to be nearby and help Amy and thank you for bringing him here to lessen the burden on our live for awhile, Amen" she said the last line obviously a joke to him since he'd be doing chores and repairs.

"Amen" the other three said and opened their eyes and began to eat.

Shadow tried his first few bites and hummed at the taste. He swallowed "Ms Rabbit, your cooking is really good"

She smiled at his kind words "Thank you Shadow" he returned smile and nod. Perhaps she was a bit too quick to judge the hedgehog.

As they ate Cream spoke of her day, and what she and Tails did that day. From what she said Tails was working too hard and she forced him to go out for a walk with her after school.

Shadow tried to polite again and asked "So Vanilla, what'd you do today. He knew what everyone did besides her now.

She seemed a bit surprised. Usually she'd just have to talk on her own because of the stereotype of, mom has run on stories to tell.

"Well…I made lunch for Cream, then worked on the house a bit. Went out for groceries. Then right after putting all those away you showed up at the door. After that I read in the back yard until I heard the car come back. And that's mostly all I did" she shrugged knowing it wasn't that exciting.

"Hmm, I definitely needed to get here earlier" he said wanting to be questioned.

The older rabbit looked at him questioningly.

"You need some more free time to have some fun" he chuckled.

Vanilla smiled really surprised by him "Why thank you Shadow… I guess I do need to get out a bit"

Amy chimed in "Find yourself a husband" she winked.

This caused the mother to blush "One step at a time dear"

Shadow felt a bit of warmth in his chest again knowing he'd be helping out the woman. He went back to eating glad he could help a bit.

As they ate they spoke of other topics until Vanilla said "OH, I forgot. Shadow. You are gonna make sure Amy gets to and from work safely as long as you are here too. That good for you"

He wasn't in a position to disagree and shrugged "Sure" he knew he'd have to do that tonight since he asked Amy before.

Shortly after that they finished any seconds any of them may have wanted and Vanilla and Shadow cleaned up. He once felt he should. Had to earn his keep after all.

Cream went off to do whatever and Amy went upstairs to read.

The rabbit and hedgehog worked together putting the dishes away, cleaning what wasn't too dirty and putting the rest in the dishwasher.

"Have to thank you again Shadow. Did you really mean what you said by giving me some free time?"

He looked to her and said "Of course. I don't break promises, now you not taking the free time I give you, I can't control that" he joked.

She rolled her eyes and said "Well it's been awhile since I've had time just to myself for a decent amount of time. I don't even know what I should" she thought aloud for him to hear.

He shrugged "That's something I can't really answer Ms Rabbit" he said drying a plate.

She scoffed "It's Vanilla, Shadow. Makes me feel old"

Shadow said "Fine Ms Vanilla" purposely annoying her.

She chuckled and nudged him playfully "You know what I meant"

He let a smile creep across his face and continued to work.

When they were almost done Vanilla said "I can handle this from here, go tell Amy she needs to get ready to leave"

"Sure thing" he said drying his hands and walked upstairs. Reaching her room h knocked on the closed door "Amy, you getting ready?"

"Yup, give me a sec" she said on the other side.

He leaned against the wall next to the door and soon the door opened.

She was back in her work outfit and said "Alright let's go" she had brushed her teeth and made herself look good before he came up and walked with him downstairs.

Both grabbed their jackets and Shadow said "Ok I'll be back soon!"

Vanilla yelled from the kitchen "Amy be safe! Shadow watch out for her or I may just regret the kindness I've shown" she warned though she had full confidence in him.

They left and Shadow looked to her and said "Hey where's the flower I gave back?"

Amy looked to him and said "I don't need it"

He scoffed like she were foolish "I think not. Pretty waitresses get better tips, it's a known given fact" he joked.

She rolled her eyes as they reached his bike parked at the curb and hopped on.

The drive was quiet besides the sounds of the bike and other cars. The sky was clear allowing the moon to shine perfectly at the world. The breeze was cold but not chilling especially since they both had jackets.

Shadow actually like this idea. Driving Amy to the diner and back was much safer and after what happened he was sure the guy had spread the word to not mess with Amy. Course that only motivated more dangerous people sometimes so he was glad he was here.

When they reached the diner he stopped taking back the helmet once she got off and said "Hope it isn't too boring"

"Me too. Thanks for the ride Shad. My shift ends at 8 in the morning so wake early" she warned.

He rolled his eyes "I'm sure Vanilla will wake me somehow. Don't worry I'll be there. If I'm not I'll suffer her wrath"

Hopefully it won't come to that" she said walking away "See ya around" she waved before turning to face away. He made sure she got inside before he drove off and headed back to his temporary home.

He parked on the curb out front and kicked out the stand and pulled out the keys and went back into the house. On his way to the door he noticed two lights on, one on the top floor and the other on the ground floor through the main window. He guessed Cream was upstairs and Vanilla in the living room.

Inside he put his jacket away and walked to the light in the living room.

As he suspected Vanilla was watching TV and turned to face him "Everything go ok?" some concern in her voice.

"Just fine mamma rabbit" he smiled giving her a nickname.

She chuckled but sighed glad Amy was safe but then said "Ok, I brought up some blankets for you and a pillow. Once I'm go you can head to sleep if you wish. Just remember, got to be awake-"

"Before 8, yes Amy told me" he said showing he was paying attention.

She nodded with a smile and said "I can set an alarm for ya?"

"That's be helpful" he nodded arms crossed as he sat on the far left of the couch while Vanilla left to a spare clock to set an alarm.

When she came back she plugged it into the nearest wall socket and started setting the timer "Once again thank you for keeping Amy ok. She's basically a daughter to me"

He nodded "I understand. I'm not gonna let some jackass-"

She glared daggers "Language"

"… jerk"

She nodded.

"I'm not letting some jerk hurt her. I may not be the nicest guy but I have standards" he said pointing to himself with a thumb.

"I'm glad…. I'm sorry I misjudged you" it was clear he was much nicer then she had been led on to. Sure he was still cold mostly but he did seemingly care and was kind.

"Do not fret about it. I'm used to it" he shrugged.

She frowned at that. When you were used to being shunned it couldn't be a good thing.

"Well… good night Shadow. I'll have a list of things for you to do tomorrow by the time you come back home with Amy" she said getting up and bidding him farewell for the night.

He nodded "Thanks Vanilla, and…. Thank you for letting me stay. I appreciate it" he looked her in the eye. His red eyes meeting her showing something else in them. Like it was ore then just letting him stay here. Like he felt good knowing she was willing to do this and appreciated his presence. She could tell it was something he rarely felt. Someone wanting him to be around and appreciate his company.

She smiled bidding him good night and went upstairs to tell Cream to go to bed and eventually also feel asleep.

When the noises stopped he slipped off his rocket shoes placing them near the feet of the couch and slipped under some sheets and fell asleep.

 **WOW, 7 k words. That went longer then I originally planned. I kinda wanted to have Shadow progress as a person now and I think the best way to start that is acceptance. Knowing he's surrounded by people who appreciate he's there and enjoy his company. Guess you saw some of that.**

 **If you guys like this story type something and SMASH that review button and I'll see you soon.(If anyone guessed that was semi quoting from a youtuber called jacksepticeye(hope I spelt that right)**

 **Admiralkirk**


	5. Macho man

**A/N Tonight/today comes another chapter! Coming to you live from your computer screens at whatever time you are joining in. ENJOY!**

 **Also hope everyone caught the irony of the game room last chapter having xbox and playstation but not a Nintendo product.**

 **All right reserved to any thing I don't own… which is like everything.**

Shadow groaned hearing music blaring in his ear. He groaned reaching for the clock but accidentally knocked it off the coffee table and cursed.

For half a second he thought he could ignore it nope… she left it on the pop station. Loud, annoying crap.

He rolled out of bed with a thud on the ground and crawled to the stupid clock and hit snooze then quickly found the way to turn off the alarm. After that he placed the clock back on the coffee table and sighed tired clearing the sand from his eyes.

He slipped quickly changed his pants to his jeans before anyone might come down stairs then put his shoes back on. Finally he put a crappy white shirt on knowing he'd be working with car later today.

He took a minute to wake up a but before going to the front door and grabbed his jacket.

He drove to the diner avoiding the early morning traffic and soon was in front of the diner and yawned preparing the helmet for Amy.

She came out looking tired from working all night but tried to keep a cheerful step. When she got close enough handed her the helmet and took off back home.

"On the way back he could feel her dozing into his shoulder wondered how she could be so afraid of his bike yet sleep now.

He luckily got her back home without her falling off and helped her inside.

Once inside he heard someone in the kitchen and someone moving around upstairs. In the kitchen was Vanilla making Creams lunch.

She looked over and smiled seeing Amy practically pass out leaning against Shadows shoulder "Oh she's exhausted. Let her sleep. Let her sleep on the couch" she said and he followed her instructions.

He laid her down gently her soft snores heard already and she snuggled up into the pillow.

He walked back to the kitchen and said quietly "So what are my jobs today?"

"Well the car I bet will be an ongoing project, so that will be on the list until you finish it" she said.

He nodded in agreement and said "Once I get a better inspection of the engine I'll let you know I need to replace anything. Hopefully only the belt though"

She also nodded in agreement and she handed him a list she had just written.

 _Empty dishwasher, mow lawn. Water plants. Vacuum house. Make sure to have lunch, work on car .Do gutters if you have time._

It seemed reasonable and said "I won't disappoint you"

"See that you don't" she said making sure he didn't half ass the jobs.

He gave her a reassuring nod.

"Good now I'm gonna head out. Maybe go for a walk with my first day off. You don't need to be done by the time I come back, need try to have something done"

He nodded again already working on the dishwasher.

She smiled seeing him already going and finished up Cream lunch as her feet cut be heard bounding down the stairs.

The teenager slid into the room looking up at her mom.

Vanilla turned and said "Be careful. Have a good day" giving her a hug.

"I'll be fine mom, Tails walks to school with me remember? He's almost as good a bodyguard as Shadow" she joked prompting her mom to as well.

Shadow even smiled appreciating the compliment.

Vanilla kissed Creams forehead and said "Now run along, I'm sure Tails waiting outside"

Her daughter nodded with a smile and left the house leaving Shadow alone with Vanilla. She turned and helped him put away the remaining dishes to which he thanked her.

The older rabbit smiled and said "Well I'm gonna get ready for my day off" walking back upstairs.

He nodded letting her leave checking off 'do dishes' off his list.

He guessed next should be water the flowers out back and walked to the back door. Makiing sure to be quite while he passed Amy so she could sleep.

The black hedgehog slid open the door and walked around the house to the hose. He figured out how to do it pretty quickly learned how to use it and pulled it out to the back.

He knew full well he'd have to do this another time today since the for cast said it would be really hot.

Turning to the shower nozzle he sprayed the plants lightly making sure to spray a good amount at the dirt around the base. This took him about fifteen minutes to fully do and when he turned to recoil the hose he saw Vanilla watching him with a smile.

"Might be able to make you're a gardener with that kind of care" obviously happy he was taking that time and care for what many people would call 'dumb plants'.

He let out a soft chuckle "Ya I don't think my reputation could handle that. Can you imagine? Shadow the Gardener?"

She laughed and said "Well if you ever change your mind ask me. Anyway, I'm about to take off, I trust you can run the house for a few hours?"

Shadow nodded and continued to walk to the hose and recoiled it.

He checked over 'water flowers' once planning to check it again later.

He tried to avoid mowing the lawn for now incase that woke Amy up, same with vacuuming.

Guess that left only working on the car for a bit.

He grabbed the jack from Vanillas garage and the work gloves he had in the other side bag on his bike. For now he just opened the hood and hoped he could find the problem from this view.

He instantly could see the belt had been shredded down and worked to get it off. With enough force he ripped it off and looked it over. A total loss.

"Well gonna have to figure out how much a replacement is" he spoke to himself. He tossed the belt onto the toolbox for safe keeping.

He then grabbed a temporary belt that was thinner would break under extended use but he needed it to run the engine and find the leak.

After placing it on he went to the front seat and turned the key brining the car to life. He kept it cycling and got out and listened for that whining sound. His ear drifted left and right trying to pinpoint it but realized it was closer to the bottom of the car.

He put on the parking bread and stopped the car for now and started to jack the front up. It was already quite hot out so he took off his shirt. Not like crud showed on his black fur.

He then turned the car back on keeping parking break up still. Still looking for the leak and was slowly getting closer. He could even feel the cold air escaping somewhere.

Unfortunately life wasn't going to be that easy and when he was almost onto of the leak he heard "Shadow?" and someone kick his boot. The surprise caused him to jerk her his head up and smack his head against the metal.

"GOD DAMMIT!" he said holding his head in pain and dizziness. Who was this asshole? He growled as he got out from under the car and looked out to see the one face he didn't want to see the most.

"FAKER!"

"Hey Bud" he waved.

"You dick. I'm trying to work asshole. Plus the car is on. My quills could have gotten stuck under there or knocked myself out!"

"Jeez man I'm sorry" he said recoiling back.

"What are you even doing here!?" he growled still rubbing his head.

"I wanted to see if Amy was busy"

"She went to sleep" he said still feeling dizzy.

"Well then wake her up" being a bit of a dick.

"She fell asleep only an hour ago. Piss off"

"Fine then if you are gonna be like that" he crossed him arms then asked the next obvious question "Why are you even here, working in their car?"

He didn't want to admit he was homeless right now, especially to him and said "Their car has some problems and they asked me to come fix it. Or atleast try" he walked to turn off the car to conserve gas and to not wear out his one temporary belt.

"Oh I see" he said taking the lie since of all the people they knew he had the most vehicle experience..

Shadow nodded and said "So could leave so I can work?"

"Hey I'm bored!" he whined.

"Well tell it to someone who cares" Shadow growled.

Sonic crossed him arms "That's not very nice to your friends"

"Told you this before, we aren't friends. We're two people who happen to run into each other a lot because one tries and the other doesn't" It was clear who he meant was the one who tried to see the other.

"Sheesh Shadow, you don't have to be so mean about it?"

"That's my whole thing stupid" he said like were stupid "I'm not the nice guy"

"Only because you want to be" although he couldn't have been farther from the truth.

"Are you gonna annoy the shit out of me or let me work on the car before Vanilla comes home?" he said in Sonics face.

He put his hands up defensively and said "Fine, fine I'm out of here."

Shadow sighed seeing him leave but right then the door of the house opened.

"God dammit" he mumbled.

Amy of course walked out and looked tired but better then when he picked her up.

"Morning Shad… oh hey Sonic" he said walking over now in some pajamas. She obviously didn't plan to stay out too long.

"Hey Ames. Did Shadow wake you with the car engine?" Sonic asked walking back over.

"Nope just woke up to see if he's doing his chores" she said rubbing her eyes.

"Crap" he cursed in his mind.

"Chores? You mean he's got more to do then the car?" he asked the pink hedgehog..

She nodded "Of course, need to work for his rent. You told him right?" she asked Shadow.

Sonic looked surprised and concerned know what this meant "Shadow?"

The black hedgehog sighed looking away before finally saying "I ran out of cash and needed a place to stay Vanilla was nice enough to let me stay as long as I did work"

"Hey Bud you could have come to my place, free of charge" Shadow cringed at the thought.

"First off, no. Second Vanilla works too hard and I thought I could her get some free time for herself for once" Shadow explained.

"That's oddly nice of you" Sonic said.

He rolled his eyes at the male and said "Anyway, can I get back to work in peace. I was doing so well until you showed up and made me smash my head"

"You what?" she asked concerned walking over and checking his head.

"I'm fine" taking a step away.

Amy shrugged if he was gonna be like that and said "Well I got to head back to bed. Maybe we can hang out later" she said already walking back to the house.

Shadow then turned to Sonic and said "Don't tell anyone or I'll break your precious legs"

He gulped and said "Alright fine… see you later then" and zipped away.

Shadow rolled his eyes "Hope not"

He continued to work on the car trying to find the leak and realized he needed something to fix it. "He thought about what could be a permanent fix and thought, "What about that sprat stuff that turns really hard?"

He nodded and made a quick stop to a store coming back and got under the car again. Before he did he took one a second to look around for anyone who might bug him like Sonic.

He slipped under the car with the can. The engine was on again and cycling. The whining sound was heard again and he went back to where he was last time before being rudely stopped.

Within another minute he pinpointed the location of the small leak and sprayed on it. The black paint quickly hardened fixing the whole and he smiled happy with that and couldn't hear anything anymore besides just the engine and it's normal noises.

Sighing he crawled out from under there and turned off the car and knew he'd have to get a replacement belt before Vanilla came home incase she wanted to drive.

He knew the model of car and closed the trunk locking the doors and also the house.

He got on the bike and drove so a place he knew that had tons of parts for sale. Now they weren't exactly obtained legally but the guy was reliable and getting an engine belt wasn't gonna raise any eyebrows and track it back to him.

He was easily able to find the part and the two parted as they always did with Shadow leaving the junk yard and the guy staying to wait for another person to come along.

He looked over the belt, no cracks. tears or anything. He was happy with it and went home to test it out.

After having some difficulty wrapping it around the spinners he turned on the car and listened revving the engine. No slipping anymore. "Perfect"

He took a deep breath and decided to relax a bit. He had half the list done and he couldn't do anything for a while. He had to wait a few hours before watering the plants again. Vacuuming and mowing the lawn were too loud and would wake Amy. Finally if he wanted to be safe while doing the gutters he needed someone else nearby.

So he decided to relax for now and went inside. Being very quite he made a plate that had some sliced cheese, sliced kaybasa, olives and pickles and finished it off by pouring himself some ice tea.

He tip toed past Amy asleep again on the couch and went out back.

He had never had a nice backyard like this. Wasn't really possible considering he was in an apartment above the first floor. So this really was nice. He sat down on a chair placing the food on the small table beside him and started to take bites of the various food.

He even threw off his shirt again wanting to bask in this sun. He almost felt himself about to pur. That didn't happen though and he sighed contently.

He listened to the sounds of the suburb finding far more comfort then where he lived. It was admittedly a little scary being in a an area where a gun could go off at any time.

His apartment didn't have the best reputation anyway. The building was known for taking in people on the run and used fake names. Guess that was why he liked it there. He felt always on the run. Constantly hiding from eyes he couldn't see. In a feeling like he was being hunted on a constant basis.

Like he explained to Amy when he took the mugger out. If the government caught wind of his location they might come and try to take him. Did he know for sure? No he didn't. But did he want to risk that? Never.

Assuming they wanted to find him, it could be for any number of reasons. To kill him and finish what they started fifty years ago. He darkly chuckled "Ya, thanks for saving the planet… now die" he said to himself.

Another strong possibility is they wanted to use him as a lab rat. He was immortal and immune to all known diseases and probably one that hadn't been discovered too. His DNA could unlock secrets humans couldn't attain in millions of years by themselves. That one scared him the most. Sure they could kill him. That was quick and easy. Being a test subject… that was slow and painful.

The only comfort he had was that he wasn't on their radar anymore or he was hiding well enough. It really made him think that he should live in the moment more often. He always stayed away from everyone for their own good. But now he wondered… just maybe, that perhaps he should spend whatever time he has left actually enjoying it. Yesterday was a new experience he had never felt before.

He had sat a table among friends who willingly welcomed him home, they were smiling and laughing and including him. That entire night went by so fast and suddenly he was alone on the couch having to sleep.

He wouldn't admit it to anyone but that had been one of the best experiences he had ever had. He wanted it more and he was feeling that warm feeling in his chest again just thinking about how it would happen again tonight, unless something happened of course.

To add to that a woman who didn't trust him had changed that night and admitted that he was a good person. That was also new to him. Someone who knew his reputation first and actually changed her mind. He would almost call the woman amazing since she did something many around the city could never do. Look past his reputation and give him a chance.

It made his chest feel even warmer having the trust of someone like that. Someone who trusted him with her house and essentially her stepdaughter. He was reliable to someone besides Rouge.

Then there was Amy… Rose.

His mind soothed at the mention of the name… why? This stopped all his thoughts in their tracks just wondering what the hell just happened. He couldn't understand why the memories of the dinner and Vanilla smiling to him made his chest fel warm but Amy made his mind clear and feel good. Unfortunatly all this hard thinking woke him up.

He opened his eyes to the sky seeing a bird fly by and smiled. The sounds around him were quite and calming. The occasional car softly driving by. birds chirping and the wind blowing in the air.

"Man… my apartment really does suck" he said confirming something someone had said a long time ago.

He hadn't realized it but he had been napping in the chair through his thoughts until he had opened them and it was near mid day.

He sighed knowing he'd have to get up and do the flowers again. His back didn't want to get up again. It cracked in protest wanting to lay there for a few more hours.

He just forced himself up and walked to the hose and like last time showered the plants. Once again he took fifteen minutes and right at the end he heard the back door slide open and looked over while still spraying the water in the other direction.

He saw Amy walked out, his mind did that weird warm fuzzy feeling again but he lost it before he could register what it was again.

"Hey there Shad" she smiled walking out with a cup of tea in hand.

"Good to see you awake" he said looking back at his work.

She smiled taking a sip and said "What you been up to since we spoke to Sonic?"

"Fixing the car, relaxing a bit since my other jobs required me to make a lot of noise. His meaning obvious because he hadn't wanted to wake her.

Amy smiled and acted touched, even making a small over dramatic gasp and holding her chest "Why thank you Shadow, I didn't know you cared"

He just fired the hose for a quick sec at her then back at the plants. Luckily it had been the shower setting so it wasn't too much.

She gasped for real this time and yelped "HEY!"

He just smirked taking pressure off the nozzle trigger and started coiling the hose again for the second time today.

"Don't feel too bad. You needed a shower anyway" he joked with the irony that it had been the shower setting and that she probably did need a shower.

"What about my clothes!?"

"Don't feel bad. Odds are I'll have to do the laundry and those are you PJ's anyway" he said finishing up the coiling.

She huffed rolling her eyes at him but unknown to him since he was facing away snuck a glance at his shirtless form and admired the view.

It was short lived though as he turned she quickly looked away taking another sip of tea and he hadn't noticed.

When she saw him putting his shirt back on she inwardly cursed. What a great way to wake up after a hard shift. She shrugged and asked asked "So what else did you have to do?"

Shadow pulled out a list checking off the flowers a second time and said "Still got to vacuum the house and mow the lawn. Then if I got time an someone to help I'll do that gutters" he put the paper back in his pocket.

"I think I'll do the mowing first" he mumbled to himself but Amy heard and said "I'll show you how to use the mower then" wanting to help a just a little.

He had no problem with that and was led to the garage.

He opened it for her and she turned on the light and revealed the garage. His boxes of stuff were there but he didn't need them right now. Off in the corner was the mower and Shadow pulled it out so he could more easily walk around it.

"Ok, so you need to hold this lever down when you pull the cord. After that you have to push. Sorry it's not one of those powered ones" she explained showing him how while he held her tea.

He handed it back and walked to do it himself and brushed against her cause of the tight corridors and felt a shiver up his spine "What the hell is that!?" he yelled in his mind getting frustrated that he couldn't pin point what was happening to him.

He hid it well though and Amy didn't seem to notice and he rolled the lawn mower to the front of the house. Once over the grass at the edge of the lawn he got to work. Mowing in a slowly shrinking box shape. Thank god her lawn was square shaped… except the small spot near the porch, which was rounded.

He hadn't noticed for some time but Amy watched from the porch and the neighborhood in general enjoying her tea.

Vanillas lawn was also on a slat so whenever he had to go back up the lawn he had to push up a hill. It didn't seem too bad but even with his strength he panted a bit. The heat was really bad and his black fur only absorbed more heat.

He finished and needed to sit down "You ok!?" Amy asked from the porch.

He waved her off panting "Just… a little… hot"

He heard the door open and bet it was her going inside to get him a drink. He waited and heard the door open again and turned only have his face splashed with water.

He slowly opened his eyes with an annoyed face hearing Amy laugh at him "Really?" he asked the adult acting like a child.

"Yes, really. Lighten up" she laughed.

He rolled his eyes and guessed he had that coming after shooting her with the hose.

He shook his head trying to get the water out of his quills. As she sat down beside him and looked out to the sky and said "Today is beautiful. It warm, a light breeze and hardly a cloud in sight" she observed.

He nodded with a grunt in agreement.

"Hmmm… what could I do today… I mean you still got chores which is why I said 'I" she anticipated his question making him grunt a little annoyed.

"Well you did mention you only had vacuuming left right?"

He nodded staying quiet for now.

"Sooooo… what could we do if I wait for you to be finished?" she asked.

"Didn't Sonic come by earlier and ask to hang out. Why keep him waiting?" he asked leaning back on his hands looking to the back left of her head now.

The pink hedgehog turned her head back so she could atleast side glance him and said "Well if you want me to. You're always welcome to join"

He nodded looking away and asked "So I got to ask Amy. Have you given up?"

She looked back him "Given up. On what?"

Shadow chuckled and said "You know, with Sonic. I mean he said no more crazy episodes. There's always the slow and subtle way. All it can take is one accidental good day and him catching the right glance at you to realize he might love you too" he said offering his advice. But then felt doubt… or… fear? After he said all that.

She looked away frowning "No I promised him. I wouldn't try anymore"

"Maybe you don't have to try. Perhaps you were trying to hard. I spoke with Sonic that day, you know this. You know how he's always on the move atleast doing something to pass the time. But he also said you were a bit too restricting…. And the way he said that it was probably because of your death hugs…. Perhaps you are trying to hard" Shadow explained his soul screaming again at him.

Amy just shrunk into herself "Please stop. I promised I wouldn't try anything and that means we are friends. That's it" her frown apparent obviously disappointed that was it.

Shadow felt his soul finally quiet down then even though he felt sad for her now.

He leaned back so he was directly beside her and said "Well… and I hate to say this and sound soft but, if you ever feel the need to give Sonic a death hug wait and give me it. I mean I am apparently like him. Atleast until you get past all this" he offered very out of character. Hell, he hadn't even meant to say it. He wanted to say something but that came out.

Amy turned to face him with a appreciative smile on and said "Thanks Shadow" hugging him for what he said. Not a death hug but just thankful.

He blushed and when she moved away he looked away to hide it and said after a moment barely able to said "Welcome"

After that she finished her tea sitting with him the whole time "Well I better go text Sonic and tell him I'm awake. See you later" walking inside the house to get dressed into some real clothes.

This left Shadow alone again and the strange feeling he had the whole time that he almost got used to disappeared and it made him feel almost… empty.

He didn't like it and put the mower back in the garage. Then closed the garage door and went inside to start his final mandatory job. Vanilla had told him where it was, inside a closet . He was plugging it into the socket of the upstairs hallways when Amy came out of her room. She was now looking like herself. Quills done up nicely and was now wearing a pink t0shirt with a red rose going from the bottom to the chest. And light white pants that looked almost like they could called bell bottoms.

He couldn't help but stare for half a second too long and she asked "So I look good right? Like always" sweeping her quills with her wrist on the second one and acting all high and mighty on purpose.

He smirked but nodded "Ya you look good"

"Thanks" she said passing by and going downstairs and he blushed for whatever reason because of that.

He heard Amy yell from downstairs "Ok Shadow, see ya around. Try to have fun!"

He didn't answer and got to work.

Over and hour later he was almost done and it was about 1:30 pm now.

He was doing the basement right now. He had slowly gone down through the house and was in the game room.

He took the time to loom around better. Like before he saw before, a Playstion and xbox. He looked over the game collection while he was nearby.

"Let's so. Halo. Eww COD, must be stupid sonic idea. Infamous…" he kept reading through until he saw a fun party game "Hmmm Rockband"

He remembered once seeing this in a store once a few years back. Seemed fun if you had friends who didn't care about looking like idiots in front of one another. Especially whoever was the singer.

He put it back still vacumming.

Two hours later…

"See ya around Tails!" Cream said from her door and went inside.

The door closed and she heard music from downstairs… and what was that other noise?

The young rabbit slowly went downstairs easily staying quiet.

"It's coming from the game room" it sounded horrible.

She opened it and gasped quietly at what she saw.

And hour later…

Amy was laughing hard, she had come home only ten minutes ago and Cream was showing her something on her phone. It was so funny Amy actually looked in pain.

Shadow walked upstairs rubbing his looking dizzy. Smell of alcohol on his breath.

He looked over hearing the laughing from both girls. In the laughing he could hear something familiar.

"MACHO MACHO MAN, I want to be a macho a man!"

He went wide eyed "NO stop watching that now!"

"Too late, we've seen it three times already!" Amy said gasping through breaths legs kicking in the air.

"I've got to be and Macho man, macho macho man, I've got to be a machoooo"

He groaned into his hands.

The video was of him singing to Macho man by Village people.

The video continued saying many times about his body and stuff.

"I was drunk" he made an excuse.

"Ya we can see, the whiskey on the table in the video"

"Every man should be a macho macho man…" he heard himself sing… terribly he might add.

"I knew you were into yourself but, Macho man!?" Amy said barely holding hysterical laughter.

"I'm not deleting it" Cream giggled.

He groaned in extreme embarrassment and madly blushing. He peaked out at the phone hoping he'd atleast did a good performance…. Nope he was stupidly posing like an idiot making him groan louder, he even flex like some jerk would when they show off their massive arms.

"You can't delete this, send it to me. It's becoming my new ringtone" Amy cheered pulling out her phone.

"NO" he said jumping for her phone over the couch but she pulled away and he groaned smashing his head against the floor with no prize.

While he rubbed his nose Cream and Amy made the exchange quickly and she assigned it to her ringtone and said "Call me"

"MACHO MACHO MAN! I WANT TO BE A MACHO MAN!" he heard as it continued and groaned into his heads again.

"Aww come on Shadow, I think it's cute... nd hilarious as all hell!" Amy cooed at first but went back to laughing halfway through.

He shook his head "God what was I thinking?"

He remembered, "I'm not afraid to look like an idiot. He was really drunk at the time. And thought he was alone. He'd had some warm up song before that but that was the worst.

"It's gonna be a long damn night" he sighed hearing Cream call Amy again.

Luckily for him the song stopped playing finally for good and the girls calmed down. Within fifteen minutes they heard the door open to reveal Vanilla who was finally back from her day off.

"Hi everyone!" she yelled though realized they were all in the living room watching TV. She was carrying two back from clothing stores and looked more relaxed and a spring in her step.

Shadow wasn't in a talking mood now that he was made a total clown and was sure the girls would show Vanilla at some point.

"Looks like you had fun" Amy asked as Cream went to her mom and gave her a hug as a welcome.

"Hi honey" she hugged her daughter and said "Ya, I did. I went for a walk first for almost two hours. Then I saw a spa and thought 'I haven't been to one in years' and man did that get rid of a lot of stress" she sighed happily "Then I finished off by going shopping a bit"

Amy smiled "Wow, that sounds like a really nice day. What'd you buy?"

Vanilla said "Well you mentioned maybe finding… a boyfriend" she blushed at the idea "And well I thought maybe getting something like a dress would be nice"

She then looked to the quiet Shadow "Did you get everything done?"

He nodded "Couldn't get to the gutters… got… distracted"

He older rabbit was going to ask why but Cream said "Don't ask. I'll show you later. He nearly died when we showed him what I saw"

Vanilla had a very strange look on her face and Amy clarified "Nothing adult rated… although what we saw could possibly destroy young kids ears"

He growled crossing his arms looking away blush on his face again.

"Awe come on it was hilarious!" Amy laughed.

"It was horrible!" he yelled back.

She shrugged and smartly said "Hey you said it not me"

He roll his eyes looking back at the TV.

Vanilla leaned down to her daughter "Ok now I really need to see it"

"In a bit… just be prepared, you may die" she whispered.

The two went upstairs and within minutes hysterical laughter could be heard upstairs "DAMMIT" Shadow yelled blush heavy on his face like when he first heard the laughing.

 **So I think that was a fun ending. If none of you know the song I dare you to listen to it with your eyes closed and imagining Shadow sing and pose to it. You may die laughing.**

 **It's sad that I know that song too. I feel so old and I'm only 19.**

 **Anyway hope the chapter atleast made you crack up a bit but I getting to the meat part of the story, the Shadamy. We're getting there. Be patient. Anyway thanks for reading and if you enjoyed it right some words down and smash that review button, see you next time!**

 **(Once again inspiration of that line goes to jacksepticeye)**

 **Admiralkirk**


	6. A plan and the beach

**A/ So I really hope everyone got a good laugh last chapter, I did. Now I got that song stuck in my head. Anyway I actually took inspiration for a lot of Vanillas house with mine. Mostly just so I have a familiar layout.**

 **Anyway on with the show!**

The four Mobians had dinner about two hours ago and like Shadow had hoped it was amazing like last time. He could get used to being around people more.

Vanilla went into her day in more detail like what she did at the spa while Shadow, when asked, explained how day.

The mother rabbit thanked him for all the chores, especially the car which inflated Shadows ego. Cream explained her day at school talking about what she learned and a project she had coming up. It was to draw a portrait of a person. She had some time to do other work so she hadn't chosen yet.

When dinner ended Shadow helped clean up like before which Vanilla appreciated and asked "So how bad was the car?"

"Not too bad, quick fixes. I got a belt from a guy I know and patched the collant pipe. Should be good" Shadow explained.

Vanilla nodded "It wasn't too hot was it, I don't want you getting a heat stroke or something?"

He appreciated the concern "Nah, I was ok. Thanks though"

The rabbit and him cleaned and finished and Shadow dried his hands and said "I think I'll just chill out and watch a movie if you don't have anything else you need from me"

The mother smiled and said "No, I think you've done more then enough today. Go do what you want…. And Shadow, try not to do something dumb again" chuckling at him about his singing incident.

He groaned "Never gonna live that down now" more to himself but Vanilla heard and chuckled at him again.

The dark hedgehog entered the living room and found Amy already there watching TV.

Hey Shad, you done helping Vanilla?" she could hear from where she was just asked incase.

He nodded sitting on the other side of the couch "Ya. I wanted to watch a movie, you got a suggestion?"

Amy thought and said "Well, how about…. A scary movie?"

"Sure" he shrugged.

She went through their movie collection. He patiently waited for her and asked "You not got work today?"

She shook her head still looking "Nope, I'm happy for that"

He admittedly liked that too. Mostly so he wouldn't be alone and because he felt that feeling when around Amy again pop up.

She finally found something, which ended up being the original poltergeist. He'd never actually seen it, heard all the jokes and famous lines before so maybe he'd like it.

She placed the disk in the DVD player and walked back and sat on her side of the couch again. Shadow offered one of the blankets Vanilla had given him and she snuggled up into it.

He waited as she started the movie and the opening credits began.

Shadow watched bored. He honestly couldn't focus on the movie very well. First off he could feel Amy move every so often to get comfortable. But it was more then that. It kept reminding him she was there and it would make him think of her and he started daydreaming without even realizing it.

He smiled softly seeing Amy yesterday. Especially when she and him had been basking in the sun. He hadn't noticed until now that he had stolen glances eyeing her and seeing the sun glisten off her fur.

Then to earlier today when they spoke after he finished the lawn. Despite having just woken up she looked good still.

"What are you doing?" he thought to himself "You're fantasizing about Amy? Why now and…. Why suddenly feel all these new feelings around her?" his inner questioning made him oblivious to her slowly get closer to him.

He only noticed when she threw a bit of her blanket over him and said "Can I sit here?"

He looked over "Of course Rose"

"Rose? Why'd he use her last name?

She didn't seem to notice and leaned against him. To her he seemed lonely by himself and maybe cold.

He changed his siting position to make it easier for her and asked "So what'd you do with Sonic earlier today?" his curiosity on that bugging him since she left.

"Went for a walk. Had lunch and stuff" she answered.

He nodded to her answer "You know how my day went though" feeling he didn't need to re-explain.

She nodded and said "I still can't believe Cream caught you doing that… and you didn't even know" she giggled lightly.

He sighed "Seriously, it's not that funny"

"No it's hilarious" she giggled again.

He just groaned and said "We can listen to your 'amazing' performance again" she offered jokingly.

"No, please don't" he grunted.

She giggled and adjusted herself again leaning back into his chest, his chest fur acting like a pillow of sorts.

He got nervous and his heart rate increased. Of course she was against his chest and probably felt it. He didn't know what was worse; that she probably felt it and said nothing or that he was nervous and couldn't understand why the good feeling he felt just intensified as well.

The movie continued but he was paying attention, something about Indian. No proper term is native burial grounds. A TV and a girl. Atleast that's what he was getting.

His mind was constantly racing and didn't realize Amy had actually fallen asleep. Guess she was still tired from the night shift. She didn't sleep that long actually today.

The dark hedgehog found himself petting her quills as she nuzzled closer to him and he stopped for a moment. All these feelings were so confusing. It reminded him of Maria but stronger and… different.

Just like that he was petting her again looking down at her sleeping form. His arms wrapping around her body gently.

"What's is happening to me. Before that day with Sonic and her I couldn't care less about any of them" Sure they worked together but he didn't care what they did. But now…. Now he felt connected to this family and even more to this woman on him.

She looked so pure, so innocent. He couldn't even find a third way to describe it was that new to him. He wondered how Sonic could just over look her like she had all these years.

All she ever did was throw herself to him all these years and he didn't even give her a chance. He remembered what he said about him in the forest to her. It had been surprisingly harsh, he was starting to understand why he had been so negative about him that day.

Rose… yes, Rose… he liked that better "She deserved better. She never wanted to hurt anyone and only wanted to be loved. But could that hedgehog give her a chance? Never. Doing what he did best, run. Leave her behind.

He remembered five years ago when he saw them more often. Sure she was young and naïve, but what harm would it have caused if Sonic had said yes?

"Perhaps that why he was so hard on the blue blur? For all his good he could be a jerk to the people who cared for him most.

"Maria didn't deserve her fate. And your fate isn't to be stuck in this endless circle" he said determined now to help her achieve her goal. Amy reminded him so much of Maria, almost enough for him to say she was a reincarnation of her. It smiled, the feelings of having basically a sister came flooding into his heart again… but… more intense… different.

"I will fix everything…. You deserve to be happy" he promised petting her again "No more tears. I will make things right" but after he said that he felt unsure. Like his body were telling him he was stupid and was making the wrong choice. He assumed it was his quiet side telling him to stay out of it and just continue his normal ways and shrugged.

She just moved in her sleep slightly and he turned off the movie and eventually fell asleep now with a mission ready and in place.

Morning…

In the morning Shadow woke feeling something poking him.

"Mister Shadow?" he heard a young familiar voice.

He snorted awake feeling her poke him again and his eyes half opened "Huh…?" looking to his right to see Cream.

"Oh… morning Cream, why were you poking me?" he asked wiping crud from his eyes.

Cream said "Amy wasn't in her room and you were last to see her?"

Shadow looked confused "She's right here-" looking down he saw nobody there… strange, he felt weight still on his lap.

It took him half a second to realize it but lifted the blanket over his lasp to reveal Amy. In her sleep she'd slipped off his chest and head was now in his lap. Not only that but she had crawled entirely under the blanket in her sleep.

A small smile crept up from his jaw but he stopped and looked up to Cream who looked amused at the kinda awkward position they were in.

He realized this too and blushed lightly.

Cream just giggled and said "Sorry for waking you from… this" she spun a finger in circle.

He rolled his eyes, when wws he gonna get a break from the teasing from these woman?

He leaned to his right and leaned on his arm waiting for Amy to wake not wanting to disturb her.

He heard someone else come downstairs assuming it was Vanilla and craned his head back until he saw her coming downstairs in a robe looking tired wanting to make her coffee.

Nobody was in a rush today; it was Saturday so Cream had no school which meant Vanilla didn't have to make lunch.

Vanilla started making her coffee and while she waited for the coffee maker she walked into the living room and stopped in her tracks at the sight. She lightly chuckled smiling "Looks like you're stuck" she said.

"Ya looks that way" he said cracking a small smile.

She had some other look in her eyes but it quickly went away as she turned back to the kitchen.

He couldn't dwell on it long as Cream turned on the TV to watch early morning cartoons.

It was that old robot show… got what was it called? He didn't have to wait long as the leader of the good side yelled "Transformers, ROLL OUT!"

"Right" he mumbled to himself.

It was right around then he felt Rose stir and grumble at the loud noises.

"Turn that down" she groaned nuzzling into Shadows lap… not the best sight if you didn't know what had actually happened.

Cream just rolled her eyes and said "Well maybe I'll do what you say once you are off Mr Shadows lap"

"Huh.. what… OH!" she realized and got up totally embarrassed "Shadow I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry Rose. You did it while we were both asleep so I won't blame you" he said staying calm to help her see he was fine.

She looked away cheeks still beating red "Well… how long did I have you like that?"

"Only ten minutes" the dark hedgehog said softly as he got up to get breakfast.

She was happy for that and took a minute to let her cheeks stop glowing red before following him into the kitchen.

Both hedgehogs prepared a meal, Shadow went with some cereal while Amy made eggs, toast and took some coffee that was left over from Vanilla's batch.

Since Shadow chose the simpler of foods he was quickly out of the kitchen to give the two other woman more waling room and sat on the couch and watched cartoons with Cream. She too had cereal. Hers was more childish being lucky charms. His was frosted flakes.

As the two ate Shadow hesitantly asked "So Cream. Got plans today?"

She turned finishing a spoonful of her cereal "I already have it arranged that Tail is gonna stop by later today"

He nodded with a smile "Cool, hope you two have fun"

"Won't you be home?" she asked him knowing he'd probably have more chores.

The dark hedgehog nodded no sign of disrespect or hating he had to do it "I'm sure one of my other jobs will be babysit you too"

She sighed "I told mom, we're 15 years old now. We don't need someone to watch us"

Shadow chuckled "Ya but she's looking out for something different these days. Let's just say if Tails were a girl she wouldn't be a strict"

Cream's already long dangling ears dropped more and groaned "Tails is looking for that! We've known eachother for years. He respects me"

Moms tend to not really care unfortunately" Shadow said trying to defend Vanilla's actions.

"Sometimes I wish she'd give me some more space" Cream sighed.

"Show her you can handle being let go more. You may not realize it but moms usually have a secret fear of seeing their kids grow up and leave. Maternal bonds are a hard thing break free of" He had no personal experience but as an adult he understood it.

The young rabbit thought it over and said "How do I show her?"

"Well my best guess would be ask her if you can do some things. Like ask to be allowed to watch the house by yourself. Or do some small shopping runs. Show you are responsible and do a good job. Then when she disagrees with some other things you can use those events against her. It's like a game… or war sometimes"

Cream thought it over already thinking it was a better suggestion then anything she'd done before and said "Thanks Mr Shadow, I'll try that sometime"

He smiled, it felt nice to help people "You can call me just Shadow you know. I'm only 5 or 6 years older then you"

"You are an adult, and I'm not" she admitted "Plus… I got used to calling everyone Mr, ms and whatever their name is over the years" she blushed feeling dumb for having let that become a habit.

Honestly it didn't matter much to him. So he let it go then last second added "Oh and because I'm not your mom, I'll leave you and Tails alone today… I mean unless you come to me, or I have to pass through for a sec for one of my jobs" He said this quietly so Vanilla wouldn't hear.

Cream whispered as well "Thank you Mr Shadow!"

He gave her a wink, he felt a bit like the cool uncle right now.

The two turned to the tv as the show came back from commercials and ate finishing their cereal.

Amy came out from the kitchen with her eggs, done scrambled and toast and said on the couch next to Shadow and asked "What we watching?"

"Robots" Shadow said quickly as a fight broke out on the screen "Fighting robots"

Amy nodded eating as the trio sat there silently.

Breakfast felt far different then dinner. Everyone was too tired to talk and nothing had happened yet to speak of to the others. Shadow liked dinner far better. There was more interaction; more talking and generally made everyone connect more. Right now it felt like everyone was doing their own thing even though three of them were doing the same thing. Like the other two didn't exist, only them and the TV.

Vanilla called Shadow to the kitchen to which he promptly responded too.

"Well it's a weekend, so I'll give you less jobs today. But please watch out for Cream please" she planned to spend the day she wanted. It was harder this time then yesterday because there was no school to watch her daughter for her.

The list only mentioned doing the dishes later in the day, watering the flowers again and gutters since he never got to it yesterday.

"Seems reasonable, thank Momma rabbit" he said using her nickname again.

She wasn't sure what she thought of the name but said "So… make sure Cream and Tails behave and have fun ok? Incase I forget to tell you before I leave" she said not planning to leave for atleast another hour.

The dark hedgehog nodded and went to go get dressed out of his pajama bottoms and dark blue shirt.

He rummaged through his bag, and pulled out some clothes and went to the bathroom to change in there. He also took the chance to brush his teeth. He walked out still putting on his shirt and saw the girls were still there watching the TV.

He wondered what Rose had planned today. He had thought about helping her with her dream to be with Sonic. He tried to think of a way to do it. Maybe he could speak with Sonic and reverse psychology him into going o a date with her. Or he could simply kidnap the blue blur and force him to have a date with her. The second sounded more fun.

Unfortunatly he didn't know how he could convince Sonic into atleast spending time with Amy…. "Wait stupid, she hung out with him now as friends. Hmm… what if….?" His mind thought of an idea but it required Amy to pull off. He knew she'd say no though to it for one reason and because she didn't want to piss off Sonic and lose him as a friend.

He also felt like not doing this. Even if he succeeded did Sonic even deserve the right to go out with Amy after hurting her so many times. Would he treat her right, neglect her and pay attention to him? He better not. He had been a jerk to her for so long and made her cry on several occasions. Why did he deserve this?

"Because you want to make her happy" his consciousness whispered.

He sighed, but waited for everyone start doing what they were gonna do today before telling her his intentions.

He waited an hour and Vanilla took off saying goodbye. He asked Cream when Tails would come over and she said in another few hours.

He was ok with that and when Cream went upstairs tomdo what she did Shadow sat on the couch with Amy.

"Rose… can we talk?"

Her head cocked to him hearing the particular sentence. Whenever any said that it usually meant something important.

He got her full attention and said "So remember we spoke of Sonic?"

"Yes, and I said I'm done chasing him" she said hoping that'd be enough for him.

Unfortunately for her he had a plan "What if… he asked you out, or showed he cared kore then he shows?"

Amy looked to him interested now but then got back to her original position. It was super tempting but she was not going to ruin what she had.

"Shadow, he made it clear. No more advances or bad stuff with happen"

"But as I said, what if he advanced on you?" the words tasted horrible in his mouth like poison.

"Ya well he won't so drop it" she tried to shut him up.

"What if I had a plan?" he asked.

His caught her attention fully. She said nothing so he continued "We make him jealous. Make him show that he cares. He can't run from what he shows"

She almost instantly agreed but her rational mind was working "What makes you think he'll even respond that way instead of not care? He's hasn't shown he cares for me that way before. Why now?" It still didn't occur to her why Shadow now so interested in helping her with this.

"I can't answer that, but you can give one last try. And if it fails then he'll never know. Because we're doing this subtly" he smirked.

"How?"

He smirked more again "Because, we are going on a date"

She froze in place blushing madly.

"Ummm.. Rose?" he asked waving his hand in front of her which luckily snapped her out of it.

"What!? How will that make him figure out he likes me!?" heavily confused.

He smirked smartly "Well think about it, we're rivals. There's always competition. He see's me with the girl who's been madly in love with him for so many years, he'll try to win you back. And then he'll slip up and reveal it by accident. It will require good acting though" he said looking away knowing that might be a weird part of his plan.

"Like how good an acting?" she asked, the plan made much more sense then she originally thought.

"Well… what do couple do?" he asked having little experience there.

She realized what he meant "Like, holding hands. Being close, being along together a lot. Acting like nobody else is around while doing stupid stuff and all that?" she nervously, leaving kissing out.

"I guess. I wouldn't know" he sighed.

She looked up at him "What?"

"I've never had a girlfriend" he said like it were obvious but also slightly aggressive since he found it embarrassing.

She flinched but thought "But… I thought girls like quite strong guys?"

He laughed, "Oh ya, some do. But that's not what the problem was. I've been hit on several times. Just none of them were people who wanted to meet me. They wanted to meet Shadow the hedgehog, savior of the planet" he hated being famous sometimes.

"Oh… well I can see how that's a problem" she chuckled agreeing.

Shadow nodded, staying quiet awhile before asked "So… you gonna do the plan. I won't be offended if you say no. I mean if you just want to keep what you have and be happy with it?"

Amy thought for awhile. Was it worth the risk if they were caught. How would he even know it was happening whether it succeeded or failed. To him it would just look like her and Shadow dating. How would he ever know?

"What's our plan if doesn't respond back and leave us be?"

Shadow said "Then we say "We broke up cause we both agreed it wasn't working out very well"

She could see it. They were quite different, it was believable.

She paused then enthusiastically said "Ok, we do it! When should we start?"

"Well I got stuff to do tonight. You on the other hand" he thought "You spread the word to your girlfriends that we just got together. If they need proof we can take a quick photo or something" he shrugged at the last one but his chest felt warm at the idea.

She nodded and pulled out her phone giggling slightly at how smart the plan was, and text, Blaze first.

Hey Blaze guess what!?- Amy

After a short delay she responded and Shadow could be heard singing "MACHO MACHO MAN!"

He growled annoyed with the fact he'd have to hear that any time he was near Amy and she got called or text.

"What Ames?-Blaze.

Guess who I just hooked up with?-Amy

"Hooked up, OH MY GOD YOU ARE DATING… Sonic? Did he finally give i!?-Blaze

-Pfff, no. We have a deal. But close, think darker-Amy

Wait… no you didn't… Mr doom and gloom, how!?-Blaze.

The conversation continued like that as Shadow walked away to get to his chores. First the dishes.

While he did that he could hear Amy yell "She doesn't believe me!"

He sighed and walked over and said "Ok, what picture we gonna do?"

Amy thought and eventually decided on one and said "Act cool" turning on the camera of her phone.

She kissed his cheek winking at the camera. Shadow rolled his eyes trying to look like he was letting it happen but annoyed he was being bothered to take the picture. Basically act like himself.

"Alright great!" she smiled noticing hat as soon as the picture was taken Shadows cheeks went deep red. She was too excited gloating over her 'boyfriend' to notice and got back to texting.

Shadow continued his work and quickly got the dishes done. Then while Rose was still blabbing away with Blaze in their silent conversation he walked past and went out back to do the flowers again.

While he was doing that word was passing. Blaze was telling Silver wherever they were, and Silver was texting someone else. There was no going back now. The plan had to happen now.

As he was half way through the watering he heard Rose come outside and said "Ok, it's done. Everyone will know soon enough"

"You sure you want to go through with this? Now whenever anyone sees us, even Cream we need to pretend we're dating?" Shadow asked.

She was determined t make this work. It was her last chance to win Sonics heart and as long as thy played this right he'd never know whether the plan succeeded or failed.

Shadow just nodded "So, can I ask you a favor?"

"Ya, what?"

"I need someone to hold the ladder steady while I do that gutter. You mind doing that?"

"Sure, I got nothing to do" the pink hedgehog shrugged "Let me know when you are about to do that"

"Well, actually it will be in a few minutes when I finish with this" getting close to the end of this particular job.

"Alright, I see you out front honey" she said obviously gonna be using pet names for awhile now. This made him roll his eyes but smiled slightly as she went inside to wait.

He soon finished and walked through the house to the front and found Rose sitting on the porch waiting.

"It's about time" she fake whined.

He rolled his eyes and walked to the garage, the ladder was hanging lengthwise along the wall. He took it off and left the garage. With Amy's help they deployed it and set it up to reach the roof. "Ok then, let's get started"

From the right side of the house to the left. They worked for an hour, f they had been able to roll the ladders along the ground without him having to climb down every so often it could have been done faster.

As he was cleaning out the last bit he heard younger voice say "Hey Amy… oh and Shadow. He sounded surprised to see black hedgehog.

He looked back to see Tails, most likely here to hang out with Cream.

He gave a nod before turning back to work.

Surprisingly enough Cream hadn't told him Shadow lived here now, which explained his surprised tone. Sonic also kept his promise too and told no one.

He walked next to Amy "How'd you get him to come here and do this?"

The pink hedgehog said "No Silly. He has to do it or be kicked out" Amy explained.

"Kicked out?" the younger teen asked.

"He's living here. Cream never told you?" that surprised.

Tails shook his head and heard Shadow say from above "Good girl, I didn't even have to tell her to do that"

Asked Amy "So why's he here?"

Amy quickly explained "Long story short, he's low on cash"

"Oh I see" he nodded. Then asked "So may I go inside?" He knew she'd say yes but wanted to be polite.

"Of course Tails, go on inside. Cream's upstairs last time I checked" She smiled as he nodded and walked inside.

The dark hedgehog was climbing down the ladder by then and said "There, done"

Amy suddenly said "I was thinking. Sonics got a facebook page and we are friends on there. We should keep posting pictures of us"

Shadow hadn't thought of that since he wasn't really a guy who used facebook or text or whatever. But he didn't know enough to say "Just don't specifically tag it with my name please. If you it might raise some attention. I'm not gonna have the army show up because of a picture of me and you"

She nodded and started to think of things they could do.

"Got it!" she said as he put the ladder away and closed the garage door.

She grabbed his wrist and pulled him inside.

"Sit on the couch" she ordered.

He did as she sat and she layed down on the couch like she had this morning head in his lap.

Then she selfied herself and him.

"Ok what can I say" she thought.

"Just chillin with my boy toy" she said aloud typing.

He blushed at that but she didn't notice.

"Boy toy?" he asked.

"Ya, what you don't like it. I could always call you Shady Waddy" looking up at him.

"Question withdrawn" he said hating that even more.

She giggled and sighed "Hmmm, what now?"

Shadow thought but Amy beat him and jokingly asked "OH, we could go downstairs and play Rockband. I know you like it"

"God no, not again" he groaned.

She fake pouted still thinking.

"THE BEACH, we should invite everyone to the beach… I know it's short notice but I bet everyone could come… you know besides Blaze and Silver. When are they gonna get back?"

He shrugged at the question but said "I guess that beach sounds like a good idea"

She popped up sitting next to him now and started sending out messages asking people if they wanted to come out "Go ask Cream and Tails"

The hedgehog got up and headed upstirs and walked to Creams door. It was open so he guessed he wouldn't intrude.

Inside he saw Cream waiting expectantly as Tails looked over some drawing she made. She looked happy, obviously the pictures before in the drawing book had been good too. Course Tails was a nice guy and Creams best friend so he doubted he'd say anything bad about them anyway.

He knocked on the doorframe having the two kids snap their heads to him.

"Hey you two. Amy thought of going to the beach today. You wanna come?"

Cream smiled "Ya that sounds like a good idea, yu coming" facing Tails who shrugged with a smile "Of course"

Shadow said "Well get ready, I think Amy is going no matter how few people come"

They nodded and Tails knew he'd have to leave the room while Cream go ready so he followed Shadow out.

While waiting Tails checked his phone and noticed the message from Amy a few minute ago.

He tapped it and saw the picture and description and slowly looked up at Shadow.

"…what?"

He turned his phone around to show him "You know about this" pointing to the description.

Shadow inwardly smirked. Looks like Amy's part of the plan was working in minutes. He had to learn how to use the internet one day. He played it cool acting like he meant the picture in general "Ya, she wanted to take that photo for some reason"

"No the boy toy part" the fox asked more specifically.

"Ya, what about it?"

Tails asked finally "Does it mean…?" he found it a bit weird to say for some odd reason.

"What? That we're dating, ya" his was totally casual and convincing.

Tails gasped "When did this happen?" he was honestly surprised. Amy had moved on, he hadn't expected that from her so fast.

"Last night" he said cleaning his finger nails, taking some crud out from under them.

"Well then… anyone else know?"

"She texted Blaze earlier and I'm sure Silver knows about it then. So them for sure. And now you. Plus anyone who sees it" Shadow explained.

The younger fox wanted to ask some more questions but Cream came out hearing the whole conversation, although had still dressed. Her swim stuff under her clothes for now "YOU AND AMY ARE DATING!? No wonder she was sleeping in your lap last night" beamed happily.

"Ya well, don't worry about it" Shadow said his ears almost ringing from the squealing she made.

"How can I not worry. You two are so different and you are doing this?" Cream asked Tails nodding, it had been one of the questions he was too afraid to ask.

He knew this all to well. He was dark, secluded and somewhat anti social. Amy was sweet, happy and outgoing. They shared probably one thing and that was their short tempers, although Amy's temper flared in more specific circumstances.

"We just talked about it last night and agreed. So we are trying it" That was his simple scape goat for when this plan failed or succeeded "And because we are trying it out there will be no hard feelings if it doesn't work out" which would also explain why they would be on such good terms when it was over.

They both shrugged but it made sense. Tails then said "Well I actually din't have any swim trunks sooo" he was about to say he should head home and get one but Shadow asked "What size are ya?" He had an extra pair and despite him being taller then Tails their wait size looked relatively the same.

He didn't wait for him to answer and went downstairs and rummaged through his bag for his two pairs and kept one and took the other. He quickly whispered to Amy as he passed by "Those two know now"

She nodded to that getting back to talking.

When the hedgehog got upstairs and tossed the trunks to Tails who caught them and thanked him.

He nodded and went back downstairs and got change as well.

He came out and sat next to Amy, a ittle closer then normal as the other two came down. His excuse was he was just doing that for the show but honestly he had done self consciously.

"So who's coming?"

"Well Sonic" that was most important "Knuckles is on his way, even got a hold of Manic and Sonia so they are coming. I was really surprised to see the chaotix respond to the event invite. So Vector, Charmy and Espio will be there too.

Shadow had a sneaking feeling a certain bat would show up too but that just meant Knuckles would be kept busy being annoyed by her.

"More people then I expected" Shadow smiled.= to which she nodded.

"I hope it isn't crowded when we get there. I hate crowded beaches" Tails chimed in.

Amy quickly left to also get dressed since all her invitations were out and said "I'll be back" then added "You are gonna have a hard time keeping your eyes off me once we get there" she fake flirted to Shadow.

Tails and Cream chuckled quietly but Shadow actually blushed madly. He barely managed to make a comeback "Nope, I'll be too busy keeping other guys from staring" which got him a laugh from Amy.

She came back quickly her normal clothes covering up her bathing suit. She hugged Shadow from behind and whispered "Good job so far" meaning he was playing his part well.

Tails suddenly asked "How we gonna get there? Vanilla took the car" pointing out that the care was gone, and Shadows bike can only carry two?"

Shadow thought tapping his chin and said "I got an idea but you can't tell Rouge"

He went to his bag and pulled out a wrapped object. After unwrapping it he revealed the green chaos emerald. It wasn't too surprising he had one. He needed it to do his stronger attacks.

Amy took a step back "No way we are not teleporting there. I'll be sick again"

Shadow smirked but explained "When we did that I wasn't using the emerald. With this and I can stabilize it for us and keep you from getting sick. I did it with Rouge once. Although that was with four of them, I was desperate, in a hurry and performed it quickly. And we travelled much further then we are today"

All of them trusted his judgment. Only he knew his limits and Shadow said "Hold hands"

They did as he said Army linking their arms together then took Tails hand and finally he took Cream, somewhat nervously.

He nodded and said "Ok, everyone got everything we need?" He knew if he didn't ask he'd regret it. Everyone shook their heads.

"Alright then…. Chaos CONTROL!" all for disappeared in a flash of green light.

They flashed on the beach and let go of eachothers hands. Unlike Amy's last time she didn't feel sick, just mildly dizzy, along with Tails and Cream.

Shadow waited for their reactions hoping it was better this time and when Amy said "Well… that wasn't as bad. Nowhere close" he smiled glad it worked this time.

Within a few minutes Sonic appeared, thanks to his super speed. Shadow had put the chaos emerald deep in the bag and wrapped up again so nobody would find it.

"Hey guys, you got here fast" the blue hedgehog said surprised at how fast they got here, even beating him "Were you guys already here when you sent out the invite?"

Amy chuckled and for Shadows sake of hiding his emerald said "Ya we going here no matter what and I sent it on the way here"

Cream and Tails went with lie and confirmed it.

Sonic shrugged and laid out a towel for himself. He of all people was gonna be at the beach then anyone else. Still afraid of the water.

It was kinda mean but it always brought a smile to Shadows face when he remembered Sonic was afraid of the water.

The men took of their shirts since it was hot out and the girls took off their normal clothing revealing their swim suits. Amy had a red two pieces while Cream also wore a twopeice that was orange.

Shadow caught Tails staring and nudged him making him snap out of it and blush madly.

Although Shadow was guilty of the same thing find himself stuck on Amy who asked "What do I got something in my teeth" teasing him.

He rolled his eyes at her antics knowing it was all for Sonic so he returned the favor and pulled her close hand around her waist. She barely held back a yelp.

"Down boy" she giggled, flashing a look to Sonic who noticed and raised an eyebrow. Obviously he hadn't heard the news Amy had sent out yet.

"Umm, what' happening" he asked everyone, hoping someone could answer.

Cream excitedly answered before anyone else "Amy and Shadow hooked up"

Shadow nodded but said "We're testing it out and seeing how it goes"

The news definitely raised Sonics attention, for what reason he couldn't tell yet.

"Well, never thought… that would happen" his pause was him waving his hand in circles signifying what he was watching.

Amy giggled "I know right. But we just kinda talked about it last night and decided to try"

"Well good. It's nice to see you moving on" meaning her crush on him.

Amy inwardly cursed, this was going to be harder then she thought but she responded "Thanks"

Shadow listened and guessed either Sonic was actually happy or said that like almost to remind her of her crush of him. Either way for now he couldn't an assumption.

He was distracted though, Rose refused to move away even the slightest. His hands holding her waist made him feel all warm and fuzzy, a new sensation to him. It confused him but he knew it was good, but why it was good he could not tell.

He could feel her fur and noticed how soft it was. He almost ran his hands along her body but stopped as they heard someone clear their throat.

All heads snapped to see the Knuckles "I'm not interrupting something am I?" smirk on his face.

Shadow let go of Amy finally and she said "No, just waiting for everyone to show up" blushing slightly.

"Uh huh" he nodded sarcastically and walked past them and said high to the other three.

Shadow looked to Amy and said quietly while they were distracted "Sorry if I got a bit too… ambitious there" he searched for the word.

She waved him off "No, it's ok" she said having enjoyed having some attention like that shown her way for once. It had admittedly felt very nice.

He was happy she was ok with it and set up his own towel and hers as well. He layed on his back wanting to relax for a bit before everyone showed up and inevitably stayed away from him. It was already starting to happen. The four friends all stayed together talking , knuckles even just straight up walked by him so he could talk to them.

He liked the quiet, well almost quiet. He could hear their voices to his right but he was basically alone and listening to the sounds of the waves and birds.

He felt alone until he felt the ground shift near him and he opened his eyes.

Above him was the smiling face of a his partner.

"Hey there Gloomy" he looked her over, definitely was here for the beach from what she wore.

"Rouge" he greeted her closing his eyes again.

"So… what's with you and Amy?" she asked taking no time to question him.

He sighed "What did it look like to you?" she must have seen them holding eachother on her approach.

"Hmm, looked intimate" she said after some fake thought.

"There's your answer" he shrugged.

"So that post was true? How long?" the bat asked her curiousity intesifiying.

Shadow knew he'd have to explain this to literally everyone now which pissed him off. He hated repeating himself "Last night"

Rouge hummed and said mischievously "Oh last night eh?"

Shadow rolled his eyes "We talked, noting else" he got her meaning, just like her to jump to that conclusion.

"Well I guess it has to start somewhere" she said.

"So I guess she made you come here?"

Shadow said "Nah, it was worth all the people to see her how she is now" he smirked pulling out his acting skills again.

Rouge chuckled "Well then, why did I never try that"

He never really knew for sure if she was joking on the topic or not. She always teased him in the past and he suspected that maybe she liked him. It was hard to tell though, she was a master at riding the line of flirting and actually trying to get to know them.

He grunted at her statement though and she said "Guess I'll only have knuckles to bug today then" he could imagine her staring at the echidna thinking of plans already.

Rouge then looked back down "I'm sorry I haven't been able to find any jobs. Everything is unusually well protected or hidden right now" she still didn't know he had moved and was living at Vanilla's yet.

"Don't worry about it. I've got a place to stay at now" he was surprised by her concern of him. He knew she cared it just wasn't normal for her to actually admit it.

"Wait… you have a place?"

"Ya, Vanilla is letting me sleep on her couch as long as I help around the house. She instantly used it as an opportunity to get out of the house and have a mini vacation" he explained even though she only was relaxing because he was the one who mentioned it.

"You poor thing" she jokingly cooed.

"Whatever. It's a small price to pay to be fed, and given a place to sleep for free"

She said "If it were me I'd have found a place to stay and gotten it without having to do anything"

"Yes I bet you would" he said getting comfortable signifying he wanted to be left alone. She thankfully took the hint and walked to the group.

He kept to himself as the group talked together.

Rouge walked to the group and said "Hey there all"

Everyone looked to the bat.

Amy said "Rouge, how'd you know we were out here?" Amy didn't have her on facebook.

The bat chuckled mischievously "I have my ways"

Knuckles ogled a bit ore then everyone else she spoke and shot a wink at him making his flinch and look away.

"Well I would have let you come anyway" Amy smiled glad to see the bat. Over the years the bat had become more of a friend than an enemy and they all thought of her as part of the group now.

"Thank you. So we waiting for anyone else?"

"Just the chaotix, and Sonics brother and sister" Tails chimed in.

As if on cue the trio appeared Vector and Charmy loudly saying high to them while Espio let his teammates do the greetings for him.

"Hey guys, sorry we're late. The traffic was a little heavier then we expected" the alligator said.

"No problem, we've only been waiting for a few minutes" Sonic said nicely.

Shortly after that Manic and Sonia arrived. They lived furthest away so everyone expected them to be later then everyone else. Sonic greeted his siblings glad to see them. It had been awhile since he last saw them.

"Alright with everyone here I think we can start" Amy cheered.

With that everyone started doing what they wanted to do.

Tails and Cream initially stayed on the beach talking. Sonic stayed on the beach because that was the only place he could go and Rouge stayed as well speaking Sonia.

Vector was first in the water and crocodile swam in the water. He was closely followed by Charmy, Manic and Knuckles. When Cream and Tails had finished their short talked they joined as well.

Shadow stayed where he was the entire time basking in the sun. He thought about going to the water but a but later.

He felt someone lay down next to him and opened his arms to see Amy next to him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be having fun?"

She shrugged "Who said son bathing with you isn't fun?

Shadow shrugged ""Whatever you wish Rose"

He thought she'd stay quiet but asked "So what with using my last name now?"

Shadow smiled "I like the name better. Fits you well. Beautiful but can hurt anyone who tries to touch or hurt you" he said.

She blushed at the comparison and said "Well thank Shad"

"Your welcome Rose" he said falling quiet again.

Amy then laid on her side facing him "Hey Shadow…?"

He grunted so she continued, "Why are you helping with Sonic. I mean you said some tings back in the forest that really do make sense. Why suddenly think he's worth my time now?"

Shadow sighed looking to her now and said "Because I know you want him. You've tried so hard and after all this time you deserve to have one more attempt to coax him into your arms. Does that makes sense?"

She thought it over and nodded "But, what if this doesn't work?"

He sighed "Then you will know for sure that it's time to move on"

His red eyes stared into her green emeralds "But don't think about that. For now focus. We're gonna force him to reveal his true feelings whatever they may be.

Amy still felt like he had more to say…. Perhaps he didn't even know what he wanted to say and tried to get her game face on.

"Ok, what we gonna do?"

"Well, I guess what we're doing is a good start. Close, away from everyone and whispering" he explained.

She noticed just how far away from everyone they were. Rouge was keeping Sonic company. And everyone else was enjoying the water.

"Ok, so then what?" she said finding herself staring into his eyes again.

"Hmmm, why not go for a walk down the beach?"

"Ya, good idea then we'd be alone and make Sonic worry what we're talking about or what we're doing?"

Shadow nodded "Exactly"

"Then let's go" she said cheerfully getting up waiting for him to follow.

He did as she asked groaning trying to pretend he didn't want to go "I was just getting used to staying like that"

She quickly locked arms with him and walked with her head on his shoulder and went down the beach.

Shadow looked back and saw nobody protest and the two hedgehogs made their way down the beach.

Ten minute of quiet walking…

The walk was… pleasant. Yes that was a great to say it. The weather was perfect and the water occasionally flowed up to their feet.

It didn't feel fake, it felt incredible and thoughts of Sonic were were gone.

Amy smiled looking up at he quiet male. He looked forward but never resisted to her staying so close to him.

He was warm and she felt safe with him. She thought back to the night of the mugger and remembered how brutally he attacked the guy. He didn't simply incapacitate him, he destroyed him. Hell, humiliated him. Now someone would argue it was because he was Shadow, he did what ha wanted when he wanted. But even for him that felt like too much for a simple mugger.

Then she thought about how he was helping with problem so hard. He was putting a lot of effort into making this happen. She felt bad because kinda didn't want to do this anymore. She remembered what he said weeks ago, she shouldn't be going against Sonics wishes. She always asked herself if she was such a bad person for wanting to be with Sonic, but now she felt like maybe she was. For so long she defied his requests and didn't care bout what he said. Now after having a nice friendship with him she honestly thought tricking him would work.

"Shadow?" she whispered out.

He admittedly was in a small daze "Hmm?" responding to her voice..

"Can we just… enjoy the day?" hoping he'd understand her meaning.

"But we are aren't we?"

"No I mean. Forget about the plan. I've been thinking… You said that deserve to be happy and I've been happier as Sonics friend then I ever was chasing him around" she softly explained hoping he'd accept her decision.

Shadow looked away but then back to her "Are you sure?"

She confidently nodded.

He looked into her green eyes and smiled "Ok, if that's what you want and feels will make you happy. Then I won't protest" He had no intention of going against her wishes. Although now that he was thinking about he was being as bad as she was before Sonic put his foot down.

He may have hated Sonic but he still respected his wishes. He was glad Amy said something before they went too far and did something drastic.

"Thanks for trying to help. But I think Sonic is right. I need to move on" Amy spoke her head leaning on his shoulder.

""I think that sounds reasonable. Very mature of you. I'm sure you'll find a person who truly cares about you are and realizes what Sonic was missing out on.

Amy blushed at his kinda encouraging words "Thanks. I hope I do too" looking up at her friend. Despite the plan being over they continued to walk. Both of them enjoyed the walk. They slowly lost track of how far they walked in silence.

Back with everyone else….

Vector was chilling out in the water listening to his jams. Like a normal crocodile he layed on his stomach only the top of his head, back and some of his tail appeared out of the water. He watched as his other friends either played or talk treading water.

Tails, Charmy and Cream were most consistently playing, their younger age offering more energy. Manic and Knuckles had stopped to talk and Rouge had just come into the water as well. He saw on the shore Sonic and his sister Sonia were catching up since they hadn't talked in nearly two months. Espeio was off probably meditating or something.

He was about to let himself drift to sleep when he noticed another figure approach the two hedgehogs on the beach.

Long ears and tan fur. He recognized the woman instantly, Vanilla. What was she doing here. Not that he was complaining. He hadn't seen her in awhile and had wanted to speak with her.

He swam his way over to shore watching Vanilla speak with Sonic and Sonia.

He crawled out of the water and said "Hey Vanilla, long time no see"

The rabbit turned to face the new voice and smiled "Vector, so good to see you again. How have you been?"

"Good, the company is finally doing well now. Sometimes we actually get too many jobs and we can't handle it" The alligator beamed with pride remembering back to the days where they were working paycheck to paycheck in a consistent basis.

"That's wonderful" she congratulated him which made him smile again.

Vector then asked being the detective he was "How'd you know we were all here?"

Vanilla made a chuckle that made him almost swoon a little "I may be a mom but I learned how to use phones and facebook. Helps me keep an eye on Cream. I saw the invitation and thought I'd come by" she surprised the crocodile.

He must have showed it because the mother laughed and said "Surprising I know"

Vector just laughed and said "So were you gonna stay" a little hopefulness in his voice.

Vanilla thought and said "Well I am free all day so I don't see why not"

"Awesome!" he said just a bit louder then he wanted.

The mother rabbit almost made a giggle "Ya well I actually didn't bring my swimsuit though" Which restricted her to the shore. She was ok with that though.

"Eh that fine" he waved that problem "Nothing wrong with basking in the sun. It's what crocodiles do anyway" he joked.

She smiled, he was very nice to offer to stay with her when he could continue to have fun "Thank you Vector you are too kind" she walked with the large reptile and sat on the beach and talked. Mostly of what had happened with eachother over the last time they spoke.

Vector obviously had more to say since he had a business to run, Vanilla was ok with that. She had big ears to listen with.

People left them alone either having too much fun or knowing Vector had a thing for Vanilla.

"Ya so we're actually respected now. And we're working together better especially now that Charmy is older" Vector said after having talked her ears off.

She smiled "It sounds like you are doing very good for yourself. Do you get free time?" Vanilla asked.

"Sometimes" he nodded with a smile.

Vanill smiled at that and said Well call me one day.I got some free time thanks to the new slave I have in the house" she joked.

"You have a new housemate?" Vector asked. Almost forgetting that Vanilla had asked him to hang out with her sometime.

"Oh yes, right not everyone knows I apologise" she cleared her throat "Well Shadow is living with us now. He can't pay so I make him work around th house. And because of that I have a lot of time on my hands now so. Like I said, call when you got time off"

Vector was surprised to hear that Shadow was living with people but he was more focused on the idea of actually being out with Vanilla. Maybe this was his chance to impress her.

"Ya of course. I'll let'cha know when I'm available" he smiled.

Vanilla smiled to this too and they continued to talk and watch the other have fun.

Like usual Rouge teased and flirted with knuckles, much to his annoyance.

"Why do you always bug me whenever we have fun days like this?" he asked arms crossed his legs kicking to keep him afloat in the water.

Rouge smirked also treading water "Well it's a fun day, and I find amusement in annoying you"

"Don't you have other ways to have fun" he complained.

"Oh ya, definitely. I could steal all your stuff but then I wouldn't be allowed to these things anymore" she chuckled.

He huffed and sighed "Guess I'm taking one for the team then?"

"Guess you are knucklehead"

He growled at the pet name, it wasn't the first time she had used it since they et all those years ago.

"Aww come on lighten up. You said it yourself, this is a fun day. Loosen up a bit and have some fun"

"I was having fun then you came to talk to me" he said maybe being a little harsh.

"That's no way to speak to a lady" she turned her head away chin held high.

He rolled his eyes, she wasn't tricking him this time.

She noticed and huffed "You're getting too good at ignoring me"

"Because you do it all the time and I am stating to know your tricks.

She gasped over dramatically "You are learning?" followed by a laugh.

"Har… har… har" he sarcastically laughed receiving a small splash from the bat.

He eyed her like he were asking "Really?"

She just chuckled and winked at him.

Back on the beach…

"So what do you think about Shadow and Amy?"

Sonic jumped from his semi sleep, his sister hadn't spoken in while so he had almost taken a nap.

"Oh them… ummm, I don't know"

"Aww come on, Amy has been chasing you around for years and now she's with you rival, there's got to be some thoughts going in your mind?" Sonia asked. Turns out Sonia wanted to see if he was jealous too.

"Hey if she wants to be with him who am I to argue. Just means I won't have to worry about Amy chasing me around. We talked and fixed our problems but you never know with her" Sonic explained. He appreciated Amy trying and respecting his wishes finally but she was somewhat erratic and could change her mind in a second.

"But if you must know I am surprised by her new choice"

Sonia nodded "But you are happy for her? Not happy that you won't have to worry about her but for her?"

"Yes. I am happy for her" he said repeating her words.

Sonia smiled to her brother "Good for you. For a moment I thought you'd say something like how you are actually jealous. Like after all these years you got used to the idea of Amy liking you and your ego couldn't take having her after a new man now"

Sonic lloked to her and said "Ok, I may have a big ego and sometimes be a jerk but she's not a thing. She's like a second sister to me and as long as Shadow doesn't use her or disrespect her I'm happy for the both of them" his tone serious.

Sonia threw her hands in the air defensively "Hey I meant nothing bad by it bro. I just wanted find out"

Sonic crossed his arms "Ya well the fact that you had to ask shows me how much confidence you have in me"

She frowned seeing his ppijt "Ya well… I just wanted to ask, I didn't want to hurt your feelings"

Sonic looked away thinking but sighed "Fine… I guess you had some good reason to suspect me of that" admit ably she knew him too well.

She smiled glad he was willing to look past all that and said "SO now that you don't have to watch your back for pink what now?"

He shrugged "I don't know to be honest"

She chuckled at him "I'm sure you'll figure it out"

The two smiled and went back to basking in the sun enjoying the day. Although Sonia left her brother by himself once she was sure he'd fallen asleep and joined her friends in the water.

The group played, relaxed and talked and hour before Shadow and Amy arrived again. They had hardly spoken since agreeing to quit their plan. It only justified their choice when they saw Sonic was fast asleep.

Amy noticed Vanilla on the beach as well, she had to tell Vector to go have fun instead of spend his whole time speaking with her.

"Vanilla? What are you doing here?" Amy asked arms still linked with Shadows.

Vanilla jerked her head to see them having not heard their approach "Oh hey Amy. I was wondering where you had gone off to" she took note of Shadow and Amy's arms linked and inwardly smirked.

"We went for a walk down the beach" her statement made Shadow want to groan in embarrassment.

Vanilla smiled "That's nice. So you guys gonna just sit down for awhile or swim"

Amy said "I came to the beach to swim of course!" she let go of Shadow and ran to the water herself but Shadow stayed on shore going to his towel again to rest.

He soon heard someone approach "Hey Shadow"

He opened his eyes seeing Tails standing over him.

He hadn't expected to see the younger fox take some time to speak with him but waited for what he had to say.

"Sooo…" he scratched the back of his head "Can I ask you a question?"

"Do I have a choice?" he said sounding uninterested.

Tails too a seat next to him holding his knees near his chest "… You've had girlfriends before right?"

Shadows eyebrow raised in question "What makes you think that?"

"You're a quiet, tough bad boy. Girls like that right?" Tails said nervously.

"Well, I can tell you have been hit on before and given numbers"

"And?"

Shadow looked away then back "But I never accepted any of them"

Tails looked down at the hedgehog finding only truth "Not even like one night stands?"

Shadow furrowed his brow "What do you take me for? Some kind of guy who does that?"

Tails flinched but said "Sorry…. But… why?" he asked.

Shadow really didn't want to explain to him and said "What do you want" getting him back on track.

"OH… sorry I wanted to get some advice" he admitted scratching his cheek nervously.

Shadow wasn't sure why he came to him "Why not ask Sonic?"

Tails sighed putting his chin on his knees "I have asked him, his advice isn't very helpful"

Shadow was surprised to hear the fox say that bout Sonic and asked "Fine, what do you want?"

"Well…." He started hesitantly feeling Shadows eyes staring him down "You know me and Cream are… good friends but…" he had trouble saying anymore.

Shadow just said what he suspected even before this "But you like her?"

He blushed madly "… Ya"

Shadow then said pushing him forward again "You still haven't asked me anything"

He blushed again having a hard time asking this "I just wanted to ask… how do I tell her?"

Shadow sat up next to him now and said "Let me ask you something first. How does Sonic answer this?"

Tails sighed remembering how useless he sounded "He just said 'go for it' or 'just say it'. I'm not someone who 'just does it" he said a little anger now.

Shadow said "Well despite how useless he sounds he's partial right, partially. Yes you need to tell her but a guy like you probably needs a plan. To eventually lead up to it and gain confidence, or let the moment finally force you to ask. Makes sense?" he asked.

Tails was glad he was giving him more of answer then Sonic but asked "So you think I need a plan… like what?"

Shadow rolled his eyes and said laying down again trying to show this was his last comment "Well Think about, you're a nerd and she's a artsy kind of girl. Find something sciency but pretty and is also romantic. You're a smart kid you'll think of something"

Tails didn't appreciate being called a nerd but his logic made sense and said "Thanks Shadow. I'll leave you alone now" already getting up some confidence in him now.

"Ya please do that" he said eyes closing again.

Tails ignored his comment already in thought for ideas.

Shadow could bring himself to sleep or even rest so he sat up and watched everyone have fun. The feeling of loneliness got to him again, they were all having fun out there while sat on the side lines.

He didn't blame them too much. He had just as big a hand in it, if not bigger, for this problem. Instead of getting involved he sat back on the sidelines avoiding them.

He didn't like it to say the least. Maybe he needed to try a bit?

He thought his idea over and got up and walked to the water "Let's just hope nobody gets awkward on me" he mumbled to himself stepping into the water.

He felt someone watching him and looked over to see Amy was the first to notice the black hedgehog. She was surprised but happy that he was stepping out his normal bubble.

He swam to her and said "What you up to?"

She shrugged "Just enjoying the water, you?"

"Same"

"Glad to hear that. I was getting worried you'd stay on the towel the entire time" Amy joked.

"Ya well maybe I decided to ret and have fun" Shadow said treading water in front of her.

Amy smiled at the black hedgehog "Wow, you? Have fun? That is definitely one of the last things I expected today"

Shadow let a small smile edge up his face but stopped before it got too wide "Ya well so far all these comments aren't making this fun" he acted offended.

"Well how about we start!" she splashed him suddenly and he threw his hands up defensively.

He growled but suddenly splashed back at her with a "HA"

"HEY!"

"You asked for it!" he yelled back.

They were at the beach for maybe another hour and a half before everyone had to go their separate ways.

Sonic was getting impatient and as soon as he said goodbye to everyone sped off.

Sonia and Manic were next to leave though made proper goodbyes.

The Chaotixs were next Vector making sure he said bye to Vanilla who once again told him to call her when he had the time. Espio may have been gone the entire time but he somehow knew exactly when everyone was leaving and appeared next to his team.

Knuckles had to get back to the master emerald so made his goodbyes quick but a little more meaningful then Sonic had.

That left Shadow, Amy, Cream, Vanilla, Rouge and Tails.

"Well I better get going, people to spy on, things to steal, and all that jazz" Rouge sighed like it were boring.

Amy smiled and said "Well good luck with that, next let me know you are coming to our group outings please"

Rouge scoffed "That would take all the surprise out of it"

Amy rolled her eyes but said "Fine I'll just have to always be ready for you being around"

"Guess so" she smirked before taking her leave and flying off.

Tails looked around "Alright, with everyone gone, especially Rouge wanna send us home Shadow?"

Shadow crossed his arms "What makes you think I'm gonna do that. I never promised I'd take you home" he was lying of course he just wanted to be a jerk.

Vanilla on the other hand was confused having not seen Shadows emerald.

Cream pouted cross armed "That's not very nice Shadow"

"When did I ever say I was nice?"

Amy pushed him lightly "Stop being a jerk and take us home!"

He smirked "Fine, but not because you told me to" he reached into his bag and unwrapped his Chaos emerald. Vanilla finally understood what they had been talking about.

Like before they linked hands "CHAOS CONTROL!"

They flashed away in a green light and appeared in front of Vanillas house. They all slightly dizzier than last time since they added another person to the chain but not by too much.

Shadow still trying too annoy them said "I don't know what you are complaining abut I feel fine" arms crossed.

All four looked at him but Amy beat them "Because you used the emerald of course you didn't feel anything!"

He just shrugged and walked to the house smirking still.

The others followed and unpacked their various stuff. Once Tails was dressed he gave back Shadows swim trunks too.

He whispered seeing they were fairly alone "And thanks for the advice too"

Shadow shrugged and said "Don't mention it" Tails guessed it was more than just a saying he really meant don't tell anyone.

Tails nodded and walked to Cream and Vanilla starting to make dinner "Well I think I'll be going. Thanks for having me over and stuff"

Both rabbits smiled Vanilla speaking first "No problem Tails. Hope you get home well"

Cream said "Talk to you later Tails. Text me when you get home so I know you're safe!"

He nodded and quickly turned to hide his blush and as he left the door said "Ok see you guys later!"

With that the house emptied to only four occupants.

Amy came out from getting dressed and walked to Shadow quietly asking "So…. I hope you realized this but now we have to act like we're dating awhile to keep our cancelled plan secret right?"

He shrugged "How hard can it be?"

Amy rolled her eyes , he obviously never seen a real couple before "Try cuddle up to eachother a lot, talk with eachother a lot. Be generally happier around each other and always try to be around one another" listing just a few.

Shadow took a few seconds but sighed "Alright fine… maybe it will be harder then I thought aloud.

"That also means if anyone is watching and we're on the couch or something I got to be leaning against you or on your lap"

Shadow realized he was sitting down and thought he understood her 'subtle hint'

He grabbed her waist and pulled her into his lap with a bored expression until he heard her yelp in surprise.

"I didn't mean right now! I was just saying!"

He shrugged and quietly literally tossed her off him onto the other side of the couch and leaned against his arm of the chair.

"HEY!"

He just chuckled not seeing her anger boiling as she pounced him.

 **So I thought that was a good funny spot to leave off of…. Did anyone notice how long this chapter was… like 11.8k words… that's like a record for me or something.**

 **So despite the length I really enjoyed this chapter, like so much I didn't realize it was that long until I reached around 7.5k. I hope you enjoyed it and seeing the other characters. So I guess you can tell this story will involve more then just Shadow and Amy at this point but they are still the main focus.**

 **I'm not sure I have much else to say so let's end this here and I hope you guys are having a good day.**

 **PS I took a ten hour nap during the day thanks to me getting a grand total of 8 hours of sleep over three days. This new night job is gonna kill me.**

 **Admiralkirk**


	7. Beautiful lights

**A/N So this is still fun. I still have no idea what anyone thinks of this story but I see favorites and follows so I guess I'm doing something right.**

 **Ya so that last chapter was super long. Hope it's not boring people yet.**

 **PS I will be mentioning Sonic 06 story stuff and I understand the adventure was basically made useless to the ending events I'm pretending they found another way to win without resetting the whole timeline.**

It had been a few days since the beach, That night Shadow had drove Amy to work and then in the morning got her back home like Vanilla requested.

He did that every night since then. He wasn't angry that he had to do it but more like just tired. Because it forced him to wake up early in the morning and get her.

The pink girl had been getting used to riding the bike, not enough to not wear the helmet, she more loosely held onto him.

Tonight he was waiting like he normally did. Yawning the black hedgehog leaned on his bike for Amy to come outside.

He looked around his surroundings. He did it every single time. He had come to the conclusion that he was looking for anyone who might want revenge for helping Amy. Or even worse, someone hoping Amy would have to go home alone for once.

He didn't want to admit it to anyone but he really enjoyed being with Rose. She brought some things out of him that made his chest warm and his personality change. He even sometimes felt lonely when she wasn't around. The feelings were foreign to him, the only ones getting even close were his feelings for Maria when she was alive.

Although Rose was more then just a sister. He had stayed up awake all night thinking about it last night.

Flashback…

Shadow laid on the couch. He'd been there for over two hours unable to sleep.

"As soon as she went into the diner all the feelings went away. He felt empty again, he even felt worse then normal.

"Why am I like this?" he said staring at the ceiling "Whenever I see her my mind stops and my eyes watch her every move. What's wrong with me?"

He groaned in frustration. His body knew exactly what it was but it refused to tell him brain this information.

He felt like yelling away his anger but he had housemates, damn nice ones too. They didn't need him yelling during the night.

"Why is this so hard?" the hedgehog sighed.

Present…

He never did end up sleeping so he had just watched TV through the night quietly. He thought it would help him think of something else but his mind never forgot about it. Like the only goal it had was figure this out.

He looked up seeing several people leave the diner and in the cluster was the familiar pink. His undivided attention watching as it escaped the people revealing Rose.

A warm smile appeared on his cheeks, he didn't even notice.

She waved to him as she approached him. He gave a small wave back.

"Hey Shad, you look tired"

"I stayed up late like an idiot" he lied.

"Ya that is dumb" she crossed her arms smiling "Thank you can drive us back?"

Shadow said his head sagging "We really don't have a choice"

"I would say just carry me and run home but that might be even more stupid. You going at super sonic speeds while drowsy? No thank you"

He rolled his eyes "If you are so worried keep your eyes out for me just incase" he hopped on his bike.

She thought that was probably the best solution and hopped on the back taking the helmet.

The ride was uneventful except when Shadow almost didn't stop for a red light. But besides that he was fine and got them hole safely.

Both hedgehogs got off the bike and went inside. Shadow walked straight for the couch wanting to sleep. He felt more relaxed with Rose back now.

He just flopped over and closed his eyes.

Amy had made some breakfast and looked at the sleeping hedgehog and smirked.

She walked over and sat down on his chest making him grunt. His eyes burst open all the air leaving his lungs. She quickly got off and he took a a deep breath.

He growled once he got his breath "What was that for!?"

She shrugged doing her cutesy act on him. He glared at her un-amused, but eventually even he couldn't stay made at that face of hers. He had noted that she was getting more playful with him and messed with him whenever she could.

He guessed at first it was for their act of dating still but she did it more often when nobody was around at all. That was yet another thing on his mind. She was always so fun around him, at her fun leaked off onto him and made him loosen up as well.

She sat down at the other end of the couch letting him sleep now.

Shadow just got on his side and tried to sleep again.

She allowed him to sleep now. She ate quickly and quietly but found herself staring at the male sleep.

He looked cute sleeping there. She started to think. He'd been nicer to her ever since they met a few weeks ago. Nice for Shadow was actually speaking, making eye contact and actually showing some care. But he only did it to her, and Vanilla too. He was sure that more because she'd changed her mind about him and was letting him stay here. But for her she didn't know why.

She had also thought highly of Shadow but he never acted this way until recently.

She dwelled on the topic, many reasons going through her mind but none seemed plausible. But here thoughts were broken by the phone ringing.

Shadow groaned at the phone and they heard Vanilla yell "I got it!"

Both shrugged and went back to what they were doing. Amy realized she had no work for the night and hummed "What could I do tonight?"

Shadow must have fallen asleep very quickly since he didn't respond and light snores could be heard.

"Well Blaze and Silver came back two days ago. What would be fun to do?"

The TV was on the news channel and almost by luck the news caster said "And don't forget, if any of you are willing. Stay up tonight and watch the meteor shower"

She gasped "That's it, I'll invite everyone here and we'll watch the meteor shower!... wait but Vanilla might not want that many people at the house"

Amy heard someone walk downstairs and looked to see Vanilla, with a surprisingly big grin on her face.

"You look happy? Who was on the phone"

Vanilla blushed "It was Vector. He wanted to go out tonight"

"WHAT!? No way he asked, like for reals?!"

"Yes, 'for reals" she mimicked her.

"SO where ya going?"

Vanilla said "He only said he'd pick me up at around 5"

"Alright then. Hope it's good. He seems like a pretty nice guy"

The mother rabbit nodded in agreement and noticed Shadow asleep "Did he do a late nighter?"

Amy looked to him then back to the mom and nodded.

"Well let him sleep for a bit. I think he's earned some peace and quiet. He's been very useful"

Amy nodded again agreeing with her.

"So Amy, did you have plans today?"

"I was thinking of inviting some people over and having some fun. Works out better since you'll be out tonight too"

Vanilla raised an eyebrow.

Amy realized "OH… NO, that's not that I meant. We won't be doing anything like that!"

Vanilla asked "So what do you plan to do?"

Amy nodded to the TV "Guy said that a meteor shower is coming by during the night. So I was planning a party around that"

"Oh, I see. Well that sounds fun. I guess that's ok with me then"

Amy smiled and would have given her a hug if she wasn't still eating cereal "Thanks, you're the best!"

Vanilla shushed her loud tone "Your boyfriend is trying to sleep remember"

"OH! Right" she said looking to her fake boyfriend sound asleep.

With that Vanilla left to get something to eat then do some chores around the house. With Shadow out cold she decided to lighten his burden when he woke up.

Nobody believed Shadow literally stayed up all night, unlike other people who say that and slept a few hours. So he slept until two am.

He groaned as he slowly got up.

He looked to the clock "Oh crap, 2 am? Vanilla will be pissed at me"

"No she won't" he heard a younger girl say.

The voice came from Cream who was doing some drawing.

"What? Why?" rubbing his eyes.

"She did a few of your chores so you could sleep awhile. Hey can you get back sleeping?" she asked suddenly.

"No I need to get to work"

"I just want to draw a bit more for my project"

Shadow remembered back. She'd mentioned having a project but couldn't remember what it was exactly "What project?"

"I need to make a portrait of someone remember. You were sitting still so I decided to make one of you sleeping" she smiled revealing what she'd done so far.

He looked it over, his groggy eyes making it slightly harder. She was still in the rough stages but his features were just starting to appear, like the easiest parts of his face.

"I'll lay down again sometime and let you finish" he promised.

'Thanks "Mr Shadow!"

He grunted and go up and went to the bathroom.

When he came out he felt a bit better and his quills were straightened.

"Ok… where's everyone else?"

He felt someone hug him from behind "Shadow, you are awake!" Obviously it was Amy and he blushed lightly for half a second.

"Yes it's me, what's up?"

Amy said "We're having a house party and Vanilla is going out tonight!"

He raised an eyebrow not liking what he was hearing. The first part not the second "A party, why?"

"Because there's a meteor shower coming over to tonight, plus we can get to see Silver and Blaze" Amy explained.

Shadow just groaned but agreed to it "So what are we gonna do the rest of the night?"

"Well… I wanted to speak to you about that sometime before. Plus Vanilla can't know. Could you please go to the store and get some beer and alcohol?"

He didn't think that would be nice to Vanilla. This was her house after all and it didn't seem right to do that.

Amy must have seen his hesitation and smiled "Hey she knows we drink, as long as we keep Cream and Tails out of it and keep ourselves under control she's cool"

He just sighed "Fine, I'll go. But you are paying for it"

The pink hedgehog rolled her eyes "Ya I suspected so. When you get back tell me how much you paid and I'll pay you back"

"Alright… be seriously what else are we doing besides star watching and drinking?"

She rolled her eyes "Stop prying and GO!"

He flinched and quick stopped to the door grumbling.

She smirked and said when he left to herself "Ya that's right you better run"

He came back in an hour making it just past three with a car full of beer, vodka, one bottle of schnapps and various pop.

Amy transferred over the money she owed like she promised and said "Ok now help me set things up"

He folloed knowing he had no choice but asked "So who's coming?"

She started listing "Me, you, Cream, Tails, Blaze and Silver, Sonic,… ummm oh Knuckles. Unconfirmed but I'm sure Rouge will be here tonight. And I'm sill waiting on anyone else"

"This house is gonna be super full" he sighed.

"Nonsense. We'll have the game room, the TV, and the backyard as the main areas"

He knew what that meant, tables for outside. Like suspected he had to do all the heavy lifting, but Cream and Amy got food ready.

Shadow was still a little peaved at how little information he was getting for this. Girls had to be up to something. He had to be on his toes.

He had set up the backyard within half an hour, tables ready for snacks and food to be put on them. The BBQ ready to turned on and all of it approved by Amy, who almost made him do it again with another arrangement.

"Am I done now?" Shadow said seeing that all the hard jobs were done.

"For now sourpuss" then booped his noise giggling.

He just groaned rolling his eyes and suddenly poked her stomach.

"HEY!"

She poked his side; he retaliated by poking her shoulder. This suddenly got into a poke war.

They didn't even bother to take turns their poking at random in random places, with respect to certain spots, and their arms became blurs.

"I WON'T GIVE UP!" Amy yelled.

"Well neither will I!" he growled.

This continued gaining a crowd from Cream and Vanilla.

Amy was panting, the fast pace was tiring her out and Shadow smirked being able to keep this up much longer than her.

"You might as well give in, I can do this longer than you"

She panted "Aww come on… can't you… let me… win… I am you…. girlfriend after all"

He glared at her and right as he knew she was about to stop he suddenly quit. He over dramatically panted and said "Fine… you got me"

She smiled panting but he growled "You owe me" he didn't like lose especially in front of other people.

"I'll pay you back later" she shrugged quietly.

Cream and Vanilla knew Shadow gave up for Amy and looked to one another smirking both thinking the same thing.

With that Shadow walked off to do whatever but Amy pulled him back and asked "You are gonna be here right?"

"I kinda have to don't I?" Shadow said getting yanked back and blushing again as the other females giggled at him.

Amy's smile widened and hugged him nuzzling his shoulder and said "Good, be ready for five"

"Yes master" he sighed to her.

She gave him an angry look and pointed at him "And bring a better attitude!"

He didn't answer as the girls giggled at him again. He really liked the family but sometimes it didn't feel worth it enough for the embarrassment.

He left the house and took a walk wanting some peace and quiet so he could have his mind as calm as it could be for this party.

During the walk he thought back to a few minutes ago. He actually got into a childish poke fight. Once again growling wondering what was wrong with him.

"Every day I'm here I'm becoming more like them" he was opposed to it and also for it. He was finally slowly starting to fit in but at the same time he wasn't used to it.

"Maybe this is just what happens. You become stupid… but I have to admit it was… fun" a small smile appearing on his face.

"Perhaps this party won't be so bad" he surprisingly said to himself.

Five o'clock…

Shadow came back to the house his mind cleared.

He instantly noticed Vanilla waiting around by the door. She wore a nice purple dress, obviously waiting for Vector. Shadow chuckled at the sight of the croc seeing her and finding himself under dressed.

"Vanilla, you look astounding" he hadn't ever really thought of her as beautiful but he was clearly thinking it now.

She blushed "Thank you Shadow, I thought it was too much"

Shadow chuckled "If it is make Vector step his game up"

The mother rabbit managed a chuckle and smiled "Well hopefully it won't come to that. But thank you for the nice words"

Shadow just gave her a nod as they heard the doorbell.

Vanilla got visually nervous. She had been telling Amy how she hadn't been on a date in years and felt out of practice.

Shadow answered and found the croc there.

"Hey Shadow, Vanilla ready?" looking down at him.

Shadow pointed back "You tell me"

The croc followed his finger and saw the rabbit and looked over and said "Wow…"

The comment made the rabbit blush "Thank you, you look good too" he had shined his scales, brushed his big teeth. His chain was gone and so were his headphones surprisingly. Finally he was wearing a buttoned dark blue shirt. Definitely had cleaned up for this.

He blushed back and scaratched his head "Thanks"

Shadow cleared his throat feeling in a joking mood "Now, you be good to her you hear. And bring her back at a reasonable time. Or there will be hell to pay"

Vector took a cautionary step back and Vanilla laughed "Shadow! Lay off"

Shadow just said "Just wanted to see him squirm before walking to the side to allow the mother through.

Vanilla was surprised by his jokey behavior but it was refreshing "See you around, make sure Cream gets to bed at a reasonable and try to have fun tonight"

Shadow nodded to her instructions "You have fun too"

With that Vanilla locked and arm with Vectors and walked to his car and Shadow closed the door.

He turned and walked inside and found Cream and Amy chatting, from what he could tell it was Vector and Vanilla.

"Better watch out Cream,, might have a new dad on your hands" Amy chuckled.

Cream smiled but said "It's gonna be weird having to to think of Vector like that… you know if it comes to that"

"I'm sure he'll be fine if you consider him to be just Vector still. He doesn't seem like he's one of those guys" Amy reassured her.

This conversation made Shadow asked leaning against the wall "Whatever happened to Creams dad anyway?"

Silence ran through the house and Cream finally said "Mom doesn't like talking about it" a very depressed tone escaping her mouth.

Amy gave Shadow a face that basically said "Shut up"

He took her advice "Sorry I asked" he sincerely apologized. Whatever it was it wasn't good, although there were still a few possibilities of what it might be, some far worse then others.

"It's alright Shadow you didn't know" Amy said nicely.

He nodded making sure not to ask again as he heard the doorbell again.

He was about to answer when a pink blue passed by and the door opened.

The dark hedgehog looked around the corner and saw Amy looking out at Sonic and Tails. Surprisingly Sonic was on time. He guessed Tails made him.

"Hey guys!" the pink hedgehog greeted receiving greeting back from the boys.

She let them in and Shadow nodded to them as they passed by.

"Hey Shadow, you're staying here with us?" Sonic asked having expected his rival to leave and avoid the crowd.

Shadow partially lied with a shrug "She wouldn't let me go"

"Ya well now you can see why I didn't want to date her" he said quietly to avoid eavesdroppers. But that comment made Shadows blood boil, he kept quiet though not wanting the night to go south so fast.

Sonic just turned and asked "So where's the food"

Shadow resorted to releasing his anger by whispering "Fat ass"

Amy said "Out back, please try to leave some for everyone else"

Sonic waved her off reassuring her he wouldn't.

Tails then walked to Shadow and motioned for him to meet him in the kitchen. The dark hedgehog followed wondering what the secrecy was for but waited.

Once inside Tails said "I've been thinking about what you said at the beach. Find something I like and she likes and as soon as Amy sent this invite I knew this could be it. Pretty lights in the sky and something that involves astrology. Think it's a good idea?" Tails asked wanting some reassurance for confidence.

Shadow had his arms crossed "Well do you think you and Cream will have fun? That's probably the most important thing"

"Well sure, but I'm just nervous" his hands fiddled around showing just how so.

Shadow rolled his eyes and said "This may sound unhelpful or kind of like obvious information but just relax. Have a good time and have your lines ready, cause when it comes you will probably need every scrap of focus to do it. Besides, fun will relieve the stress so that will help a bit too"

Tails took a deep breath and nodded "Thanks, I needed to hear that. Listen Shadow I really appreciate this. I have to make it up to you if this works"

"Just make sure it works so I know that I won't have to council you again" he said but a slight hint of light heartedness was there which made Tails smile. His little smile made Shadow crack a smile.

Suddenly the small moment disappeared as Cream poked her head in the kitchen, "Hey Tails what'cha doing?"

He stiffened and gulped looking to Shadow who took a breath reminding him to stay calm.

The young fox turned and as close to normal as he could muster said "Nothing just talking with Shadow" he proceeded to walked out of the kitchen with the young rabbit leaving Shadow alone.

He pulled out some vodka and coke and poured a small amount into the cup then filled the rest with the coke "Something tells me I'm gonna need some of this to get through the night" then took a drink.

Hearing the door again he went this time.

On the other side of the door was Blaze and Silver.

"Hey Shadow" Silver greeted "Haven't seen you in awhile"

He grunted to the almost foreign people and merely said "Ya" taking another sip of his drink.

Blaze smiled "Nice to see you again. I missed your quiet self, he's always talking and loud" she teased.

"hey!"

Shadow let a small smile allow itself on his face and allowed them in hearing Amy approach from behind.

"It's so good to see you" Amys voice yelled giving Silver and Blaze both their own individual death hugs.

"Yip I definitely remember those too" Blaze panted.

Amy just did her cute stance giggling.

Shadow hadn't kept tabs on them and asked "So why were you out of town?"

Silver let Blaze speak since she was the one in charge of that "We were off making deals. With people. Investors mostly. I did most of the talking and Silver just stood there looking handsome and playing with stuff with his powers when anyone got difficult"

Silver blushed at her comment but said "Ya well, whenever I did they'd go bug eyed for a sec and realize that I could just throw them out the window. It's kinda cheap but meh" he shrugged.

Shadow actually found it amusing "You intimidating? Right"

Silver just shook his fist in mock anger "Hey, if we fought in a straight up battle I could win" a slight whine in his voice.

Shadow just shrugged "You'll still end up with a shoe in the back of your head"

He threw his hands in the air walking into the house as they heard Blaze and Amy giggle. He mumbled under his breath "Never gonna live that down am I?"

Blaze finished her laugh "Well this party might be a little more fun then I expected" and followed her boyfriend.

Shadow simply took another sip of his drink and went further into the house as well. Surprisingly he found it easier to speak to people recently. Perhaps that was one of the good qualities he was getting from Amy always pestering him.

After that knuckles came to the door and just as the door opened Rouge landed next to him. She purposely wanted everyone to think they came together and raise some eyebrows.

"Hi Knucks! Hey Rouge" Amy greeted.

The echidna glared at the woman but said "Hey Ames. Hope I'm not late"

"Not at all. I see you had to pick Rouge up" Amy giggled although Knuckles fists clenched in anger.

"She landed here just as I rang the doorbell!"

"Tsk, that's no way to speak about a lady" Rouge finally spoke.

"We didn't come together, end of story" he growled walking inside.

Amy looked to Rouge "He's telling the truth right?" making the bat nod.

Amy smirked "Doesn't mean we still can't mess with him tonight"

The bat smirked "I'm glad someone is willing to have fun with me tonight" her town mischievous.

Both girls went back inside.

Everyone was gathered in the living room and Sonic suddenly said "Oh hey I forgot Manic and Sonia are coming too"

Amy nodded glad he mentioned it because she was about to start things off had he not.

Rouge shot a wink at Knuckles making himroll his eyes. Oh this was gonna be fun for her. For now she walked to Shadow who leaned against the wall. He wasn't too far away from the group, enough to hear any conversation and be asked something. The bat smiled at her friend who seemed to be growing a little.

"Hey there Shadow. How you been since we last met?" the bat also leaning against the wall.

Shadow had almost finished his first drink "Not too bad. Been working for Vanilla. I did some shopping to alcohol today too" he explained.

"Oh how can you be leading such a boring life?" Rouge asked groaning like she were bored for effect.

"Not boring, relaxing. The work keeps be feeling like I'm doing something and house is quiet. I like it" he admitted.

He was about to take another sip and asked "Hey any word on Omega?"

"Heard he's working as a freelancer. Offering his services to anyone willing to pay"

Shadow asked confused "He's a robot, he doesn't need to buy anything?"

"He's an AI, meaning he can have a personality. Which continues to mean he has wants and needs. He's expanded his wants to more then just wanting to destroy Eggman and his robots since we last got together"

Shadow then asked "Like what?"

Rouge chuckled "Would you believe me when I said he dances?"

Shadow jerked his head towards her questioningly.

"Remember he's sometimes does that weird spinning victory dance? Ya, that was the start" Rouge explained.

"Well…. Anything else… that's not as surprising?"

Rouge then listed "He's got a House, trying to start his own company to rival Eggmans and is trying to in general better himself"

The dark hedgehog nodded "That sound a bit more like him"

The bat nodded and asked "Hey where do I get a drink?"

Shadow just nodded to the kitchen and she made her way there.

The doorbell rang and Amy answered again seeing two hedgehogs, green and magenta.

"Hey Ames" Manic nodded.

Hello Amy" Sonia said more politely.

Their respective personalities showing badly there, as Sonia was polite and Manic wasn't as much.

Amy nodded to them both and allowed them inside.

Sonia said "Sorry we're late, Manic took forever to get home" this made the green Hedgehog pout and grumble.

Once in the living room and nodding to their older brother Amy said "Ok, now that everyone is here, the meteor shower will be at 8. So everyone just do whatever fro the next three and a half hours. Then meet in the backyard. Everyone got it?"

Everyone nodded except Sonic who raised his hand like he were in a class.

He refused to speak and lower his hand until Amy said "Yes, Sonic?"

"Yes umm, what time was that again?" joking in his voice.

She rolled her eyes and repeated herself.

"And if any of us miss it?" he continued.

"Then you miss the show and also can expect my hammer in the ear future" she threatened.

Sonic didn't plan to miss it he was just messing with her. But her threat made him double sure that he'd have to be there.

Everyone scattered after that. Blaze and Silver went outside to enjoy the outdoors and nice backyard. Manic, Tails, Cream and Sonic went downstairs to play games. Knuckles went to the TV, along with Rouge, if only to annoy him. Sonia spoke with Amy in the kitchen leaving Shadow to his own devices.

The dark hedgehog decided to join Blaze and Silver and went outside.

Both cat and Hedgehog had taken a seat on the lawn chairs. Blaze looked like she was smelling the air picking u the scents of the garden.

Silver simply lounged on the chair finally being able to be lazy after their long trip.

Both turned their heads to the approaching hedgehog who had quickly made another drink. He nodded to them getting nods back.

He sat down with the pair and Blaze said "This garden amazing, Vanilla has a real green thumb"

Shadow nodded and said "Thanks. Means a lot to know my watering and stuff shows"

Blaze and Silver looked to him strangely.

He had forgotten they didn't know he lived here "Oh… right. Ya I live here and Vanilla makes me do work around the house and tending the garden is one of them"

"You live with people?" Silver asked strangely having a hard time believing that.

"Ya… I'm low on cash right now" he said staring at his drink embarrassed.

Blaze frowned "Don't worry Shadow. Nobody is judging you. Everyone needs to ask for help once in awhile"

Her kind words helped and he said "Thanks"

The pair smiled, it was new for him to accept advice like that.

"So how's it feel living with inly woman?" Silver asked trying to break the air.

Blaze knew exactly what he meant and gave him a light slap on the shoulder. Making him flinch in fear second.

Shadow shrugged "Not too bad. Cream and Vanilla are usually quiet and give me my space. Rose is the hardest to live with though"

The use of her last name caught them off guard but he explained "Amy and I are trying out…. Dating" he scratched his head nervously, even though it wasn't true he kept feeling embarrassed. He never felt this way when he posed as Rouges date for a ball they went to once. That was also so they could steal something but he had been completely calm that night.

Both Blaze and Silver froze hearing him say that.

"Wait so let me get this straight…" Silver asked "You? and Amy?... Why?"

Shadow shrugged "Guess opposites attract"

Blaze let out a small smile "Ya I guess, look at me and Silver. I'm dignified and patient while Silver is somewhat clumsy and naïve"

Silver sighed "You know that doesn't help my confidence"

Blaze just patted his shoulder "Ya but it's why I love you"

Silvers cheeks turned red at that and Shadow said "Get a room"

Blaze jokingly said with a seductive smirk "Might just have to"

Shadow looked away regretting that.

So Shadow what you been up to in the last few years?" the cat asked him.

He looked off to the sky trying to remember "I've been spending my years working with Rouge. Living alone and staying off the grid"

Silver raised an eyebrow "Staying off the grid?"

"Still not sure the government likes me but I don't risk it" he explained.

They both nodded again but Blaze asked "How do you stay off the grid yet still live in the city?"

Shadow summed it up by saying "Fake names" everything he signed was in a fake name, his phone, his apartment. His accounts, everything.

Once again the pair nodded.

"What about you two, what have you been up to?"

Blaze smiled "Well I keep jumping from my world to this one but I like it here better. I'm not treated like royalty, and Silver is just refreshing compared to people back home. As for what we've done, we started a small company here and are in the works to expand like we explained earlier"

Silver said "Besides that we don't do much, although we do sneak in the odd date night whenever we can" he grabbed Blazes hand and they both smiled.

Shadow couldn't help but smile at the couple and sounds "Like you two are balancing work and life pretty well"

Blaze groaned "Mostly but that trip we had wasn't as balanced"

Silver agreed but said "Ya but the hotels were out sanctuary and we used then to our fullest" this made Blaze blush and slap his shoulder again harder.

He ignored her daggers and said "Ya" knowing if he said more he'd receive more than a slap.

The dark hedgehog chuckled at them and heard the door open from inside.

Amy came out alone, Sonia must have joined another group.

"Hey Ames" Silver beat everyone to the punch.

She nodded and smiled hugging Shadow over the back of the chair before sitting down next to him in another chair "What'cha talking about?"

Silver and Blaze officially believed Shadow after what they saw but Blaze answered next "Just catching up." Then paused "Soooooo we asked Shadow gave us a vague answer on why you two are together, care to elaborate?"

Shadow sighed his hand going over his face.

Amy scoffed at his action but said "We were both up awhile one night and got to talking and decided to try it out, that's all"

Blaze shook her head "Ya but why?"

She shrugged "Sometimes you just feel it and ask"

Both quit their questioning of the topic seeing there wouldn't be anymore to learn.

Silver asked Amy "So you working at the diner now, atleast that's what I heard?"

The pink hedgehog nodded "Vanilla makes Shadow drive me there and back now"

"Oh now I see why you are dating now. Must be nice to be shuttled around by a big strong guy on a bike" Blaze chuckled.

Silver chimed in "never took for a biker chick"

Amy blushed and even Shadow chuckled at their joking, but he had to say "She's hardly a biker chick, she gave me one of her death hugs the entire time we drove for the first time. She's better now but she needs to wear a helmet or refuses to ride. Although I understand why"

"Ok, so then she just likes bad boys" Silver said.

Amy said "Hey nothing wrong with that!" arms crossed.

"Sure there is, didn't Vanilla ever tell ya to stay away from the bad boys" Blaze chided her.

"Shadow isn't that bad"

He appreciated her words.

Silver just said "Umm, he kicked me in the back of the head while I was frozen. I want to point out that someone stuck in slow motion getting hit by someone in normal motion hurts way more"

"That was your fault for attacking Shadow with a chaos emerald" Amy defended Shadow again.

Blaze said "No offence hun but she's got a point. You could barely use an emerald and he's had mastered his powers and you tried to fight him"

Silver didn't like being ganged up on but said his only real defense "Hey I had never seen him in my life how was I supposed to know?"

Blaze rolled her eyes "If you remembered the history books I told you to read and learned about Shadow, then you would have"

Silver sighed in defeat.

Shadow frowned thinking about what he had learned that adventure. Wasn't the best adventure. They had defeated Solaris and everything was fine now.

It was one of the major factors why he didn't trust the government. For all he knew something else might happen and make the people of this country distrust him. In his mind he'd simply delayed what would eventually become true.

Amy asked all the questions Shadow had asked before getting the same answers.

"Well you gonna stay around for awhile?" the pink hedgehog asked.

Blaze sighed "Oh hell yes. We aren't doing any business deals for awhile"

"Thank god" Silver said "All those offices and business talk was killing me"

Amy nodded glad to hear that her friends would be around awhile.

Shadow said "Well I'm gonna go get another drink" find he had finished off his drink by now.

Amy and the pair nodded and continued to talk.

He went inside hearing the TV, Knuckles was still being bugged by Rouge who was constantly flirting with him. Sonia must have went downstairs where everyone else was.

"Knuckles, come on, you know you like me. What's your problem?" Rouge Said fluttering her eyes at him.

He groaned rolling his eyes "Because you steal stuff, like the master emerald. Why should I trust you?"

"Hey my words isn't worth anything? After everything I've done?"

"Nope"

Rouge said "Guess I'll have to prove you wrong" she said like she were accepting a challenge.

Shadow just past the bickering pair and made himself another a drink.

After that he went back outside grabbing a few snacks to eat.

In the basement…

Sonic and Manic were furiously racing in a game "You're getting slow bro, I'm catching up" Manic said.

Sonic smirked "Ya just giving a false sense of hope"

"Hmph" Manic said continuing to play and prove his bro wrong.

Tails waited for his turn with Cream and Sonia. He sat on the computer chair while Sonia and Cream sat on two chairs nearby.

Cream asked "Do the usually get this into games like this?"

"Only between them. Manic always found some satisfaction in beating Sonic at this. It's basically the only place he'll be faster then him" Sonia explained.

Tails added "Plus Sonic is competitive in general and it seeps off to Manic"

The young rabbit nodded and said "Well they have fun atleast?"

"Of course. They never stay mad at the other long" the fox smiled.

Sonia then asked "So you two are in school right? What you guys do?" she'd never really had a chance to speak with the two before.

Tails said "Advance science" and Cream said "Art, haven't chosen a specific style or anything yet"

The magenta hedgehog nodded "Hope you guys are doing good"

Cream said "Yes, I'm fine. Tails though, he's always doing good. Amazing even"

Tails blushed at her compliments and said "I don't mean to brag-"

Cream cut him off "He's so smart they skipped him ahead some grades"

Tails didn't like showing off or bragging but Cream saying those things so enthusiastically made him blush but felt that Cream found him a bit inspirational.

Sonia said "Sonic had told me, but it's nice to hear it coming from someone else mouth"

They all clearly saw Sonic not like that comment. He stared at the tv screen and said "Hey, that's not very nice sis"

She just shrugged.

Cream broke from the conversation and asked Tails "So we're watching the meteor storm together right?"

Tails stuttered "Y-ya of course"

Cream smiled and said "Can we sit on the roof?"

"What, why?" he asked surprised by her.

"Ya, we can get a clear view up there"

"It's the sky how hard can it be, you don't have any trees nearby to obstruct you- OW!"

Sonia kicked his shin and said "Just do as you are asked"

Tails sighed "Fine"

Cream gave a glance off to Sonia in thanks then said "Good"

They all looked back to the brothers hearing them getting louder.

"Nonononononono" Sonic growled.

Manic smirked and the games win music played "YES!" Manic said.

"That was bull" Sonic whined.

"You didn't make that turn properly at the end and you payed for it" He smirked.

Sonic just crossed his arms hating to lose, but he'd get over it. He handed the controller to Tails who got next turn, while Manic stayed since he won.

Sonia said "Don't worry Sonic, you'll always be faster than him in real life. And isn't that more important?"

"Ya I guess so" he sulked.

Shortly before 8 o'clock…

Amy yelled "EVERYONE OUTSIDE NOW!"

Knuckles and Rouge had calmed a bit having had a few drinks by now.

The people downstairs came running up. Manic had downed a few drinks and Sonic had one or two. Sonia was still working on her first. Tails and Cream being under age stayed off it. Even if they didn't follow the rules Cream didn't like the taste and Tails wanted to be clear of mind for whenever moment he chose to tell Cream his feelings.

Shadow, Blaze and Silver were still outside. Shadow had enjoyed his time out there with the couple and Rose. Silver was amusing but not supremely annoying like Sonic was, Blaze was sophisticated and joked when she knew she could definitely get a laugh and Rose… well he just enjoyed Rose's company.

He noticed everyone come out and was happy he had grabbed some more snacks before then because the tables got swarmed.

That happened quickly though and he looked up into the sky incase the shower came too fast.

He heard footsteps approaching.

Sonic sat down in a seat , followed by everyone else. He hadn't noticed it before but there weren't enough for everyone, even with Cream and Tail flying up to the roof.

He smirked seeing them do that made sure to keep an ear out for when he asked the question.

He thought back to the low amount of seats and wondered who was gonna get stuck sitting on the grass. Not that it was bad but he liked his seat.

Suddenly he felt weight on his legs and then up along his body and left shoulder.

"Mind if I sit here?"

He looked at the figure and saw it was Rose.

"Uhhh" his mind froze and Amy took that as a yes. Shadows could hear Silver and Blaze snickering while smirks came from the others. He hated all the staring "Why don't you watch the sky?" he thought.

Luckily for him that's what everyone did. Any talking that was made there was no eye contact.

He felt Amy snuggle up to him and grabbed is hands. She forced him to wrapped his arms around her stomach and leaned her head back on his shoulder.

He wanted to groan in embarrassment but honestly he liked this a lot. He took a breath taking in her scent. She smelt like some kind of berry. Not quite strawberry though. Maybe… a little cotton candy?

He was trying to figure out when he heard someone say "Hey look! Anyone see that one streak?"

He looked up at the sky and saw one meteor streak across the sky… then another… then two… then three, then ten.

He heard voices 'ooooo' and 'ahhhhh' but his eyes went wide his mind flashing back.

Years ago aboard the ARK…

"You ready?"

The young Shadow nodded. He was about half the size that he had been the ark was attacked. Which was only days away. His creation made him have hyper growth. Only days ago he was a baby, by the next day he was a toddler and speaking. By now he was equivalent of ten years old. Apparently his aging would slow down, until he reached the equivalent of about fifteen then age normally.

Next to him was his one friend, Maria. The one person on the station who made time for him and spoke with him like a person. She also showed him new things all the time and whenever he wasn't being tested on she made him smile.

Today they were on an observation deck looking out over the world. She had said something about showing him beautiful lights on the surface of the planet. He didn't know what she meant by that. How could land suddenly glow? He'd been to the agricultural area and the dirt never glowed like the ceiling lights.

She said "Ok, see how the land is slowly turning darker? That's the suns rays being unable to reach those parts of the world. Watch what happens when it starts to go over that country"

He watched and waited. He was somewhat bored cause it took a few minutes.

Then it happened, the coast of the massive landmass glowed and his eyes went wide. "wow" the lights slowly travelled with the darkness. It wasn't very fast since it took hours for the sun to travel from one side of the country to the other.

"Why is the ground suddenly glowing?" he asked not realizing what the reality was.

Maria chuckled sweetly "No silly, those are cities. Remembered I showed you pictures of those yesterday?"

He nodded still watching as the lights continued to appear across the land.

"Those lights are large cities turning on their lights for the night. They are so large that their combined lights appear to people in space. I've heard that down on earth you can see the stars. We can do that here but I'd like to see the stars from that perspective"

The little hedgehog hardly listened, not because he didn't care but he found the idea of such large cities showing off their lights like that to be mesmerizing.

"Shadow?... Shadow?"

His mind snapped away finally "Yes?"

"If one of us gets down to earth one day, we should take a picture of the first night we are down there and send it to the other" Maria smiled.

"Ya we should do that" he eagerly said but looked back to the planet.

"Hey you know what else I've read about? Meteors sometime fly into the earth atmosphere. They are small and burn up quickly in the atmosphere but when a lot of them go through they make what is called a meteor shower. During the night it looks like stars streaking across the sky as they burn up in the sky"

He heard her and asked "How do we get to the ground then? Won't we burn up?" he said frightened.

"No. We make ships and equipment designed to survive the hot temperatures and keep you safe"

He seemed relieved by that and went back to staring at the planet. More lights were there now "That's so cool" to Maria. To anyone else it's wasn't as amazing since it was fairly common knowledge. But he was so young he thought it was amazing.

Maria then suddenly said "Shadow, when you meet another girl that you find to be special, do you promise I could meet her somehow?"

Shadow looked over "What do you mean special, you are special to me"

She smiled warmly to the young hedgehog but said "No I mean, like a girl who you want to be your wife, or girlfriend"

"What no, ewww" his boy mind thought girls were gross.

She giggled "You will understand one day"

"I bet I won't" he defiantly crossed his arms.

"Well if" she made special emphasis on the word "you ever find someone you love in that way, look up at the stars with her" Maria asked him.

He looked away but said "Ok… if it ever happens, I will"

Maria smiled looking back at the planet as did Shadow.

The two watched for over an hour watching the lights increase. Until sadly Shadow had to go for more testing. Maria promised to take a picture of it when the entire country lit up and he felt relieved by that. He reluctantly left with the scientist as Maria waved with a warm smile.

Present day…

He came back to and saw the meteors were still streaking across the sky, luckily he hadn't missed too much from his memories and realized that particular memory had gone full circle.

He looked down at the earths lights and now he was staring up at the lights of space… with the girl he loved… loved?...

He realized his was now holding Amy tighter, not awkward like he had when she initially made him hold her. Her scent was in his nose still effecting his thoughts and he felt good with her around, even better with her sitting with him.

Love? Not like Maria. He loved her like a sister… this was… real, as passionate as it could get.

He went wide-eyed realizing the truth and what had been wrong with him this entire time. I love Rose. His mind exploded with emotion finally realizing it like his mind were yelling "It's about damn time stupid!"

He was frozen barely remembering to breath.

Amy was so interested in what she was watching notice his sudden change in behavior but she said "Isn't this beautiful Shadow?"

He looked over at her having trouble distinguishing whether she said "Aren't I beautiful?" or the other one. It didn't matter what it was both had the same answer "Yes"

He was so stunned he stopped watching the shower. His mind was so full of emotions, happiness, and the feeling of being normal cause he actually felt love. But he also felt fear that he could possibly be rejected. He was Shadow after all. Amy appeared to like hanging out with him but would she consider giving him a chance like this?

He thought for so long that he missed the rest of the shower and Amy knocked him out of his thoughts "Shadow that was amazing right?"

"Y-ya" he said stuttering.

She was too amazed to notice his answer and sat there with him awhile staring up at the sky.

Back in Shadows mind he wondered "Maria?... how'd you…" He thought how she was able to predict that… perhaps… that's not what happened exactly. Perhaps… perhaps she had just spoken to him?

'Maria?'

He didn't utter this aloud but he decided to believe that his memory was skewed and that what had just remembered was changed. For once, he liked the idea of his memory being changed unlike the other times.

He looked to Amy who wasn't facing him and knew what he had just learned was true. He loved her, for how long he wasn't sure, it didn't matter anyway. He loved Amy Rose and perhaps she could love him back. He didn't want to try right now. For now he was happy with this, he still needed to wrap his head around the revelation anyway.

"Thank you Maria" he thought deeply from the pits of his soul.

On the roof….

On the roof Tails noticed now that the shower was over but felt something else he hadn't registered until now. Cream had been leaning on his shoulder for some time and he blushed feeling it.

"That was cool Tails, so pretty"

He heard the word pretty, then the same word but from Shadows mouth echoed in his head. He had also mentioned to choose his moment. Maybe this was the moment. Maybe now was the moment he had been waiting to choose?

He took a deep breath like Shadow had advised and ran the lines through his mind that he'd been thinking of.

Cream wasn't getting up yet so he said "Umm… h-hey… Cream?"

"Yes?" she said noticing his terrible stutter and pausing. Her face showed concern, their faces accidentally very close together "You ok, are you cold?"

"No, no" he said already losing his place on the lines he wanted to say. That split second of her interrupting him made his mind blank. He had no idea what he wanted to say now.

"Tails. You sure you're ok?"

He gritted his teeth angry at himself for losing his mind at this exact moment and said "Cream I wanted to tell you something but… I feel like there's peanut butter in my mouth and I forgotten what they were" he rambled.

She cocked her head "Just calm down Tails, try to think clearly" her hand went over his. Unlike what he expected his heart rate actually lowered instead of rising. He looked down to see her holding his hand then back up staring into her chocolate eyes.

"I…" he blushed madly "I've been wanting to tell you…." he couldn't find a way to finish that sentence "I wanted to ask…" once again unable to finish the sentence his eyes darting left and right ad his free hand making gestures. His tails even twitched nervously.

She just waited patiently for him, he saw those knowing eyes and finally with every ounce of courage said "I really like you" he suddenly closed his eyes cowering from her reply.

He felt slight but gentle pressure on his hand and he slowly opened his eyes.

Her smile was so warm and inviting, her eyes so tender and sweet. Neither feature carried any hate doubt or rejection. Only happiness, wonder and glee.

He let a small hopeful smile appear on his cheeks when she asked "Like… how much?" she scooted closer to the boy making him blush hard.

He scratched his head "Like… a lot… like more then a lot" her smile and eyes gave him more courage to continue..

"Like how a mature boy likes a mature girl?" she said easing him into saying what she wanted to hear.

"Ya, like that" he said glad she was able to make the words come out for him… especially in a way his smart mind would say it.

She smiled and fully grabbed his hand and asked "So… are you trying to ask me to be… your girlfriend?" her eyes practically pouring with hopefulness.

"Yes, exactly that" his voice said confidently.

Her eyes twinkled and said "Of course I will" and kissed him.

The little fox froze in place his blushing so red it looked like they'd explode and pour out blood. His eyes wide and empty for a second.

The pose made Cream giggle and nudge his shoulder "Tails?... Tails?"

He suddenly took a breath "Wow…" he held his head "Did… I just dream that?"

"No, silly" she giggled hugging him tightly, her head tucked under his chin.

He smiled and hugged back warmly. He pet down her back liking to hold her and said "Thanks Cream… I don't think I would have been able to finish had you not helped me out"

"No problem Tails"

They sat like that fo awhile as everyone went back inside. A few helping to bring the food inside.

Shadow noticed, momentarily out his own cluster of thought, the two and smiled glad his advice worked. He left them be and finished with bringing everything inside.

Once inside Amy said "We got a lot of time left anyone got a game we could play? Or something?"

As she asked this Shadow went to the kitchen to get another drink and be alone to think and finally breath properly from his revelation.

He poured a bit more vodka in the glass then the others wanting it to help his mind think. He knew he was fine right now which is why he had no doubt that what he learned was true.

His train of thought was broken hear a familiar horrible sound.

"Macho Macho Maaaan"

"What the hell?" almost the entire house collectively asked, besides Amy and Shadow, the latter groaning.

"Was that… Shadow?" he heard someone ask.

"Can't be, he's in the kitchen. It came from Amy"

He chugged his drink and poured another before walking inside knowing he'd need it for sure.

Amy blushed and saw Shadow come in and mouthed "Sorry" to him.

He sighed as she took out her phone "It's… my ringtone"

"Ya but what was that?" Sonic asked, he was the first one to ask what the sound was.

"I can't tell you" she blushed.

"Aww come on!" Silver begged.

Shadow rolled is eyes and said not liking that everyone ganging up on Amy "It was me"

Everybody's head snapped towards the black hedgehog all the same expression of disbelief.

"I… got drunk and thought I was alone and sang it while playing rockband" he said now hating that all eyes were on him.

"You sang… for rockband?" Sonic held back snickers.

Shadows lip twitched "Ya that's what you're supposed to do when you play as the singer"

"No but… you sang?" Knuckles chuckled.

"Yes. I SANG, what of it!?"

Manic said "She's got a ringtone of it, that means she's got to have the video!"

Everyone gasped hearing that eyes on Amy again.

"NO!" Shadow yelled.

"YES!" everyone yelled besides Amy.

"Don't you dare show them!"

Amy held her phone tightly "Sorry guys"

Sonic suddenly flashed to her and back to where he stood holding her phone "Hey what's your password" he said smartallicky.

Shadow saw the phone in Sonics hand and blasted at him and dove over the couch to try and take it back but Sonic just side stepped.

He dove head first into the floor and growled rubbing his nose.

"No seriously just show us"

Amy frowned "Shadow, come on. They won't let up until you let them see"

"GOD DAMMT" he yelled but groaned loudly his head making a loud thud on the floor "….fine"

"YES!" everyone cheered gathering around the couch.

Amy sat in the middle seat sighing not liking she had to do this and opened the video.

The music started to play from the game and Shadow bounced his foot to the beat.

"Want to touch my body baby"

"Oh my gawd" Sonic was already laughing.

The song continued everyone holding back snickers since the best was even there yet.

But suddenly the background singing said "Hey, hey hey hey hey hey…"

Shadow cowered witing for the embarrassment to reach it's limit.

"Macho Macho Man, I've got to be a Macho Man" the room exploded with laughter, hearing his terrible singing and dancing to the music.

"That can't be Shadow!" Sonic laughed hysterically falling on his back on the floor.

Silver had to lean against the couch to support himself. The worst was Rouge laughed the hardest her stomach almost instantly getting sore.

Shadow cursed every word he could think of as everyone there laughed besides him and Amy. Unlike last time when it was a small amount of people it was all their friends and Shadow may never hear the end of this.

It took the rest of the song plus ten minutes to for the group to finally finish laughing.

Sonic said "Oh my gawd thank you Vanilla" when he stole the phone he saw it was her texting Amy. Shadow didn't hate her he just thought she had the worst timing ever.

All of this because she wanted to Amy, not Shadow or Cream herself, if they were doing ok and that her daughter was ok.

Shadow just rubbed his temples in extreme anger and embarrassment "I hate you all"

Blaze was still chuckling every so often her stomach so sore "Aww come on Shadow, we all do stupid things. I mean look at Silver… and that I'm his girlfriend"

Silver didn't even protest to her comments and laughed.

Shadow wanted to hit something really bad but just growled in rage.

The back door opened to reveal Tails and Cream, his arm around her waist.

They noticed everyone smiling and standing around the couch "What'd we miss?"

 **So there ya have it, yet another chapter. Hope it was fun. Don't got much to say except please don't get angry at me for having people remember the events of Sonic 06 because I already explained up top that they fixed everything without all the stupid sacrifices like Blaze killing herself for literally no reason(Like seriously with them reverting the game to a useless waste of time at the end her sacrifice meant nothing) and also I made them find a way to fix that too so everyone remembered.**

 **Anyway thanks for reading.**

 **Admiralkirk95**


	8. Out for some fun

**A/N Hey so I hope that whole thing with Maria and Shadow and making him realize his true feelings made sense, was ok and didn't feel stupid. I also fully understand that Shadow was fully grown on the Ark considering cutscenes of him still in the tank had him at full size, I just liked the idea of having a young tiny shadow full of wonder and amazement before he became a bitter quiet guy. If what I said about his aging didn't make sense basically he has accelerated aging, growing the equivalent of 15 in a few days. After that he ages normally until he's equivalent of twenties and stop aging at that point because of his immortality. I just wanted to explain all that for anyone who might ask me "Shadow was fully grown the whole time"**

 **Secondly for the stuff with Sonic 06 basically the basics were Blaze didn't sacrifice herself, and they beat Solaris without resetting the timeline… I have no idea why they needed to do that if they beat Solaris. I guess the one good thing to come out of the timeline reset was everyone was still alive and Sonic wasn't kissed by Elise…but that doesn't just leave your mind.**

 **OH hey random thought but if you consider the rules of time Silver would have never succeeded o matter how much he wanted to. There's two theories, either the multiverse theory where going back in time sends you to a newly created universe that's is effected by your actions making it different then every other universe. Or the more popular one is the straight line theory(Not the real name) but if Silver was trying to change the future by going back in time and changing it he'd never know it. Because by Changing the past he changes the events that would eventually not lead him to going back in time for that said reason he'd suddenly disintegrate cause of the paradox of him never going back in time now, then because the events that led him to go back in time never happened it means he never went back in time causing another paradox which the universe would fix by just resetting it back to the way it used to be. Basically Silver would be in an endless cycle he didn't even know he'd be doing.**

 **OH hey I was mid way writing this story and stumbled on that fact I described someone,s something(Secret so you can read and find it yourself) and I said it was perfect. I've never actually enjoyed the idea of someone being perfect. Sure they can beautiful and kind and all that good stuff but perfect? No nobody can be perfect. But what's appealing about perfection? Imagine you look into your loves eyes and see many people with identical perfect eyes… little wisdom coming from me(Which is rare since I generally don't think myself to be that smart, don't pity I just mean in general knowledge) Beauty is not from perfection, it's from the odd differences. The freckles, the waves in the eye pattern, even subtle differences from face to face. They make that person them, worship non perfection, find attraction in those imperfections. You will find there's more to behold and adore if you look for the mistakes on a person then the perceived perfections we wish we could find.(And I guarantee if you met the perfect woman or man, you would find them boring to look at, I guarantee it)**

 **I apologize for that long ramble there of what some may call "Not so amazing advice" and a big DUH, but I wanted to say that while I was writing. Despite how much perfect sound appealing, I see writers(Or at the very least myself) use perfect as a describer of a loved one. I just wanted to explain that I don't believe in perfection. I infact cherish the imperfections. Like I said above it's easier to find beauty in a blemish then it is to find in perfection, because the whole idea of perfection doesn't exist.**

Shadow woke up, sitting against the front of the couch. His head hurt so bad.

He groaned holding his head in pain "God dammit" he grunted.

His eyes slowly drifted around the room. It looked fairly normal besides a lot cups on the coffee table. He vaguely remembered most of them were his.

He once again cringed feeling his heart beat and push blood to his brain making it ache.

He thought back to last night… what happened after everyone laughed at him.

He got super drunk when his friends watched the video several times.

Then… what happened?

Last night…

Howling laughter was heard in the living room as Shadow chugged another drink pouring another "Assholes" he grunted.

"Shadow?" a weak feminine voice asked.

He turned the slightest wobble in his step now. He saw Amy, ahhh beautiful Amy. The one who caused all that laughter in the other room. Not that he blamed her, he could never stay mad at her now.

"What?" he asked taking a sip again.

"I'm sorry" she frowned looking down.

Shadow looked at her for a moment and finally said "Don't worry about it. Not your fault" it kinda was but he was trying hard to be nice.

"No it is, I kept it as my ringtone and should have guessed Vanilla would call and check in" Amy looked away.

He rolled his eyes "Rose, try not to talk a it. Or I might start blaming you" he tried to make it sound like he wasn't angry with her but with a small nudge could change that.

She took his not so subtle hint with a nod "You ok?" seeing he was wobbling slightly.

"I'm fine. I've drank far more before" he waved her off.

She took his answer and said "Sooooo…. We still got time to kill, you have an idea of what we should do?"

He took a drink again "You planned the party, you didn't plan past meteor shower?"

She blushed "Sort of but I want your input. Especially now that everyone is laughing at you"

Shadow just sighed "I don't care, I bet after a few ore drinks I'll be in a singing mood again anyway"

She made a small smile at his joke and said "I'll go ask everyone then, if you want to join then come. If not then do what you do" after what happened she didn't feel like pushing his boundaries would be helpful.

He nodded letting her leave.

"Hey guys! Anyone got an idea we can do. We still got time before Vanilla comes home" Amy yelled catching everyone attention.

"Watch this video a few more times" Sonic chuckled but Sonia nudged him "Come on, we've seen it five times, lay off already"

Nobody knew it but Shadow appreciated her saying that, glad to see someone had a limit.

"Fine" he crossed his arms.

Rouge then mischievously said "Truth or dare"

Everyone spontaneously agreed besides Tails and Cream, and Amy.

"No that's not a good idea" Amy warned but she was out numbered.

"I think it's a good idea" Shadow smirked walking behind her surprising everyone. He hugged her from behind boldly in his drunken state "I think t will be a great way to make up for what you did" his tone wasn't clear whether he wanted revenge on her or everyone else.

She sighed and said "Fine, anyone who doesn't want to play stay outside the circle"

Everyone got in the circle besides Cream and Tails. Who knew this might turn bad. Shadow brought a bottle of vodka with him and several cokes knowing he'd be drinking more.

Amy asked "You use you want all that?"

Shadow just nodded and said getting into a cross legged position "If anyone wants some I can share"

He smirked seeing no takers yet and drank again.

"Alright I guess Rouge starts first since she suggested the game" Amy shrugged.

"So polite" the bat smirked then looked around "Ok… Umm, Silver, truth of dare"

The silver hedgehog jumped not expecting being the first "Umm… truth?"

The bat smirked "Ok, so if you could have anyone in this room as your girlfriend that's not Blaze who'd it be?"

Sonic laughed "Throwing the hard ball questions right off the bat. Hahahaha!"

Silver stuttered and looked to Blaze his eyes asking her to forgive him after the answer "I… would choose…. Amy…"

Everyone went "OHHHHH" hearing his answer but Shadow glared daggers at him.

"No offence to you Amy but you're a far second place, Blaze trumps you… no offence" he said meaning it which Blaze appreciated.

Amy smiled "Good, I was a little worried there"

His answer also calmed Shadow down a bit too.

Silver then looked around and said "Ok, Sonic. Truth or dare"

"Dare for sure" Sonic said like the idiot he was.

Silver thought and said "Ummm… for the rest of the game you need to… take a drink every time someone completes a truth or dare until you either pass out, the game ends or you give up"

Sonic said "Easy, Shadow toss me a bottle"

The dark hedgehog did just that tossing him a bottle of vodka and smirked "Good luck" sarcastically.

Sonic was so cocky he just smirked and said nothing until he chose his own target.

"Shadow" he smirked "Truth or dare?"

Shadow stared him down "Dare"

"Alright! Yes! Ok show Ames how much you like her"

Amy and Shadow both blushed. Shadow because if he truly wanted to show her just how much it might not be appropriate and Ay because to her they were still just fake dating.

Everyone looked to the two and Shadow rolled his eyes and smirked putting his drink down.

He cleared his throat getting Amy's attention and wrapped an arm around her waist which made her yelp.

The Dark hedgehog used his free hand, and grabbed her chin and gently made her look at him.

Everyone watched intently, Sonic worried he might have to take his first drink of the game.

Shadow said "You ready?" which she hesitantly nodded to.

He pushed their faces together, his drunken state making t a bit sloppy but his aim was still good. Everyone around them were surprised. Not because he kissed like he was supposed to but because it was more then just a kiss, it seemed full of lust.

Both hedgehogs calmed and Amy almost leaned back but Rouge said "Hey, come on keep it PG for the teens" meaning Cream and Tails.

Both went wide eyed. They had totally forgotten they were surrounded in the few seconds they had been kissing.

Both stopped and blushed madly and slid away from eachother, the sound of snickering from their friends.

Sonic took a drink of vodka as per Silvers dare.

Shadow cleared his throat looking away and taking a drink himself and said "Alright…" he eyes darted back to Amy then away somewhere hoping she wasn't angry with him then decided to take his turn…

One hour later…

Everyone had been part of a turn. During the game Knuckles had had to kiss Rouge to his annoyance. Blaze had to light her own tail on fire, which left her with a singed piece of fur on the tip of her tail.

Silver had unfortunately been told to do several things, have his quills cut, have embarrassing stuff drawn on him and finally… once everyone had gotten super drunk had to use his powers to grope Blazes chest. Blaze was not happy he went along with that.

Sonic had nearly finished his bottle and was totally drunk and passed out. Sonia and Manic had to carry him home with Tails.

Poor Amy had been forced to sit in Shadows lap the rest of the game and after she'd done that Shadow was immediately targeted to give her a massage for a while. Amy actually appreciated that one though.

Rouge had surprisingly only ever taken a truth which surprised everyone greatly.

Manic forced to be dressed up by Cream eventually making him come back at a prince.

Finally Sonia had to be impolite the rest of the night since she was very overly polite.

A lot of juicy information was exchanged. For example like what the best thing Silver and Blaze had done in private, let's just say it involved his powers. Sonic secretly wished he could be a dancer and Shadow explained how he had dreams to become super hero called "Black lightning" and have a sidekick called "Thunder boy" cause thunder comes after lightning. Although nobody trusted anything he said because he was drunk out of his mind.

More was exchanged but it wasn't as juicy.

After that everyone needed to go home. Like Sonia and Manic promised they took home Sonic "See ya later lamewads" Sonia said, she was horrible at being impolite.

Manic got all his lame close off before he left and said "Ya, see ya. Hurry up Tails!"

Tails was saying good bye to Cream who gave him a kiss on the cheek making him blush "See ya Tails!" she cheered as he walked away with a shy smile and followed the siblings out the door.

Shadow was sitting against the couch barely conscious and yelled "See you around Faker!"

Amy looked to the remaining house guests.

Silver still covered in embarrassment said "We better head home… then I can take a shower and get this stuff off me" Blaze just chuckled at him.

Rouge politely said "Well I better get moving too"

"See ya around guys!" Amy said as the three left. Rouge flew off and Silver and Blaze did the same. Green glows surrounded them both and they shot across the sky.

Knuckles said "Y ai got back to my island so see ya round"

"Bye knuckles" the pink hedgehog smiled.

Knuckles left the house and saw Vanilla at the door "Hey Knuckles, heading home?"

"Yes. How was the night?" he asked politely.

"Delightful" she smiled letting the echidna pass not holding him up too long.

They said goodbye and went their separate ways.

Inside Vanilla saw the house wasn't too bad. Cream had gone to bed minutes ago so they wouldn't get into trouble for that.

Amy looked over and saw her "Vanilla, you're home!"

"Yes. Good to see the house didn't burn down"

Vanilla saw Shadow now passed out and said "Guess he partied hard?"

Amy blushed "Ya… surprisingly hard for him"

Vanilla nodded and Amy asked her about her date with Vector…

Present…

"Oh right, that's what happened" he groaned.

He was proud of himself for being more social able but was sure he'd have to answer for that truth or dare stunt with Amy.

The dark hedgehog slowly got up and sat on the couch, it was more comfortable then the floor.

His mind started to think about what he learned last night.

"How could I not see it before? Why'd it seem so preposterous that I loved her until last night? Perhaps I didn't want it to be in love? It's too dangerous to be that close to another person…. Well maybe, I still don't know for sure if the government wants me" he continued to speak to himself.

"But she's so beautiful, everything about her is so perfect. And now I've been able to taste her lips and hold her. It may be too late to turn back now" he said hands covering his face. He wasn't fully sure if that wasn't a good or bad thing.

He stopped his vocal speaking hearing someone come downstairs. Looking over his shoulder he saw young Cream.

"Hi Mr Shadow!"

He cringed "Ow!... Cream please be quiet. My brain will appreciate it"

Cream looked down and said "Sorry" hands behind her back and twisting her foot nervously.

"It's alright, as long as you stay quiet now I'll forgive all" he said rubbing his temples.

She smiled and said much quieter "So, was last night fun?" it was definitely a good night for her after what happened but she wanted to check with him.

"It was surprisingly fun" he smiled "But it was smart that you stayed out of truth or dare"

She smiled agreeing with that. They had done and said some very embarrassing things "How'd you sleep?" the rabbit asked politely.

"Like a rock" he groaned, usually that was a good thing but not this time "How was yours?"

"Full of good dreams" she smiled.

Shadow nodded "Good. So…. I saw you and Tails on the roof" he not have been asking a question but he sure meant something.

Cream just blushed madly "Oh… you did?... Wait! Please don't tell mom. I don't know what her opinion on boys is for me yet"

Shadow chuckled and said "Ok, but what do I get in return?" he tried to bribe her.

She crossed her arms "That I don't start screaming and destroying your mind this morning"

The hedgehog stared her down but groaned "Fine"

With that he got up and went to the kitchen and got some water. Taking a slow drink he sighed. It was the first drink he'd have in almost twelve hours that didn't make his throat burn or go down hard.

Cream was making getting some cereal as he did this "Mr Shadow, you seemed unlike yourself last night?"

His head slowly turned to her if only for his hangover "Oh ya, like how?"

"You seemed to talk more, stayed around people. Even if most of the time it was Silver, Blaze and Amy. Plus you actually participated in truth or dare even after everyone saw your video?"

Shadow thought for a moment finally said "Let's just say maybe I'm trying to be a better me" a small smile appearing across his muzzle.

Cream smiled at the answer "Well it was nice to see you talk more for sure. The rest…. Maybe not what anyone was expecting"

Shadow made a quiet chuckle "Ya I guess the booze does make me go… out of character"

"Try a lot of character" the rabbit giggled.

Right about then both heard someone else getting up.

He leaned back to see around the corner it was Rose. His head instantly cleared up slightly seeing her. Despite the bed head, in baggy pajamas and dead tired she still looked gorgeous to him.

"Morning" he greeted.

She rubbed her eyes "Morning Shad… how'd ya sleep?"

"As good as you'd expect" he shrugged "You?"

Amy chuckled at his answer and replied "Well better then yours, considering how you look"

He walked to the bathroom and in the mirror found his quills were totally messed up and all over the place.

He sighed and did what he could to bring it back to normal for now and walked out. Cream was eating and Amy making coffee which he asked if could have some.

He then rubbed the back of his neck waiting for the coffee "So… ummm… last night…"

"Oh ya that… nice acting" she nervously chuckled.

He frowned looking away "Ya… thanks" having actually forgotten they were fake dating still.

Amy was blushing remembering last night, he had been so strong yet gentle. Not to mention, smooth.

Both stood there awkwardly until they heard the coffee maker ding.

Both got their coffee still quiet.

Amy finally broke the air "So I guess you got some extra work today eh?"

He realized this too "You're right" he'd have to clean the house for Vanilla now.

"And what are you gonna do today?" Shadow asked.

"Probably rest up for my shift later today"

Shadow took a sip and nodded "Probably a good idea"

With that Shadow went back to the TV and watched the news for a while so he could drink and fully wake up.

Within half an hour he heard the final occupant of the house come down stairs in her purple robe like always.

"Morning everyone, I guess everyone has had a chance to wake up?" she asked cheerfully.

Shadow just nodded leaning back in his seat getting comfortable again.

The two girls also said yes which made the older rabbit smile again.

Cream then hopped to her mom "So how'd the date go!"

The question made Vanilla blush and vaguely said "Very nice. Vector was surprisingly a gentleman unlike his normal self"

"What'd you do?" Cream asked with Shadow listening in from the other room.

'Well first we went out for dinner at a nice place. Then a movie, he let me choose but I was nice to him and watched something we both enjoyed and finally we went for a walk and talked" Vanilla explained, Amy had heard most of it last night so she was just sitting back and half listening.

Cream said "Awww, he's just a big scaly softy"

Her mother nodded in agreement.

"So you gonna see him again?" Cream asked hopefully.

Vanilla chuckled at her daughter "If he calls me back, then sure"

"Oh you like him!" her daughter cheered.

Vanilla blushed more "…Maybe"

Amy finally cut in "Yup, definitely like him"

Vanilla just blushed more as her daughter giggled and Amy went to the living room.

Shadow instantly watched her ever move as she walked to the couch "So I hear Vanillas date went good"

"Yup, hopefully Vector liked it too" Amy smiled warmly though both knew Vector must have liked it too somehow.

Shadow felt like asking this though feared her answer "So, while they are bickering. You gonna try and find someone too?"

Amy looked to him and thought "Well, I think I'm sufficiently over Sonic now. So I guess I could"

Shadow didn't like that, it meant he had an undetermined time limit before someone picked her up before him, could be tomorrow, next week or next month.

"So what you looking for?" he randomly asked.

She thought again "Well…. I think for sure I'm gonna find a hedgehog. Someone who can handle me having my 'girly moments' and someone handsome of course" she smiled at the end.

He thought in his mind "I fit two of those, a hedgehog, and I'm pretty sure I'm handsome. As for her 'moments' he hadn't really been hit by those yet so he didn't know.

"Well just remember we're still running out act" he said reminding her so that perhaps she wouldn't go boyfriend hunting for now so he could do something.

"Don't worry Shad, I wasn't gonna start that soon. Besides if someone caught me doing that they'd either forever think of me as a cheater or tell you and have to finally explain our plan" That was not desirable at all.

He nodded happy he had some time. He made a mental note that if anyone ever said that about her he'd shove a signpost down his or her throat.

He turned back to her and said "Good thinking Rose"

The pink hedgehog nodded. The morning went slow and midway through Shadow and Amy worked to clean up the living room.

During the process they both reached for a cup at the same time. Amy's reached it first but Shadows landed on top of her hand. He jerked it back a little faster then he wanted and blushed "Oh sorry" he hadn't noticed until now that she too stopped wearing her gloves too. It felt weird to think this but her hands even looked gorgeous, almost perfect. Almost like if he held them he may never be able to let go. Even the small touch he was able to get before he flinched back felt so soft, warm and caring.

He found himself staring too long as he heard Amy said "No it's alright" taking it and throwing stacking it on the others she'd collected and headed for the dishwasher.

Shadows mind still fluttered around with no sense of direction, looking at his hand once she was out of sight. His heart was racing, from a mere touch?

His hand slowly pressed against his chest feeling the soft beats inside. He remembered five years ago when he was nearly tricked into thinking he may be an android. Everything was happening so fast at the time he never checked the one sure fire to solve his doubts. Whenever he doubted himself of being the real Shadow he made sure to do this, check his pulse.

His thoughts were interrupted by a warm voice behind him "I was wondering if that was all an act"

His head snapped back to see Vanilla smiling warmly at the young man.

"W-what" he asked.

The mother rabbit chuckled and said "Come with me outside" obviously wanting privacy.

He followed still confused but knew his question would be answered soon.

Once outside in the backyard Vanilla started off with "So when did the act stop being an act?"

"What are you talking about?" Shadow asked again.

Vanilla chook her head "I'm twice your age and live more then five times longer hen you Shadow the hedgehog" using his full name meant she was serious "I heard one of your conversations with Amy about your 'acting"

"What, how?" he asked not even denying it, her use of his full name instantly braking his will for some reason.

He grabbed one of her long ears, which answered his question. He sighed "Yes, we were acting. It was originally supposed to be so we could trick Sonic and see if he'd get jealous seeing Amy with someone. Like one last ditch effort to see if he actually did like Amy. When Amy had a change of heart on the beach we decided to continue the act if only to not raise suspicion' He didn't go further just wanting to hear her reaction.

Vanilla sighed "Who's idea was this" although she had a good guess already, sadly for her she was wrong.

"…. Me"

"What!?"

"Shhh, keep it down" Shadow begged.

"You thought of it? Why, you aren't one to play games like that?" the mother rabbit asked.

"I…. didn't want all of Amy's years chasing Sonic to be a waste and all the crying and pain… I wanted it to work out and make her happy… Although she changed her mind feeling she shouldn't be doing the plan. I'd chastised her about not following Sonic wishes weeks ago. Ironically it was then I who suggested the plan which would be indirectly going against his wishes. Like I said she was the one who changed her mind and it was a good choice to. Sonic didn't care in the slightest"

Vanilla sighed shoulders going limpish "Well, you wanted to help. I'll give you that. But back to what I wanted to ask, when did it become more than an act?"

Shadow feigned ignorance "What do you mean?"

"Oh come on Shadow, I saw you after your hands touched. You stared at your hand for like a minute" The rabbit smirked.

"What does staring at my hand mean in your world?" he defended.

"Your hands touched and I could practically see your heart rate rise and breath faster. Then you sat there in silence for a minute. Only a few things actually cause that reaction. Trust me I'm older then you" she crossed her arms.

"Not really I'm over fifty five years old" he said not feeling old like some other people might feel admitting that.

"Yes, but almost fifty of those years was spent asleep. So it doesn't count. You've been alive for about five years plus a few months" Vanilla said smartly.

Shadow just scoffed looking away also crossing his arms.

"Stop avoiding the question Shadow"

"…." He stayed quiet

Vanillas tone suddenly changed to super serious and snapped "Shadow!"

He flinched at the mom looking down like he were being punished now. It was only the he realized how Vanilla had slowly transitioned to like an impromptu mother to him.

"Fine!... Last night while watching the meteor storm… something happened and right then and there I realized that all the frustration I had been feeling for a week on why I felt so good around Rose was because… I… I think I love her" he admitted in a weak pathetic stance. He truly looked vulnerable for once.

Vanilla smiled warmly, so warm infact Shadow could feel it even with him looking away. He slowly looked up and asked "You… are ok with this"

Vanilla sighed with a smile "It's just, it's strange to have a boy love her back instead of be one sided" obviously referencing to her and Sonic old relationship.

He growled slightly at that reference and said "What a jackass. He has no idea what he missed out on"

Vanilla only smiled more for his unknowingly kind words.

Shadow frowned anyway "Even if I got the courage, I spoke with her earlier and she said she might go and find a new boyfriend now"

Vanilla rolled her eyes "And that's your chance"

Shadow shook his head "Ya but we're already dating in everyone else's mind, why not just ask me to make it more permanent then?"

"Maybe she thinks you don't her like that, duh. You are a little hard to read" The rabbit said her logic near perfect.

He didn't believe her. His naïve mind on the subject and nervousness clouding his judgment.

She just sighed and decided it would be easier to see if he figured all this out himself and said "Well atleast try to tell her. I guarantee it will feel better to have atleast asked and known the answer then not to know it at all"

He looked away again but not to avoid eye contact but to think on her words.

The mother didn't wait for an answer and went inside, he'd have to do this on his own.

He looked off into the sky and said quietly "What if she says no? Could it destroy me, make me stay the way I was or even worse?"

He was slowly becoming a better person, atleast on a social level. He even spoke a bit more, but could her saying no to this question revert him back? It was one of the few times he was truly scared. Maybe he'd just isolate himself from the world feeling that he'd never want to go through heartbreak again.

He then thought "Even if she says yes there will always be the fact in our minds. I will live forever… she will pass away and I will continue on" it frightened him to know that was true for everyone he knew. He was even slightly sad for Sonic.

Could he do that, he could watch all his friends die while he looked the same forever? Or would it be easier on him to stay away?

He sighed looking down. He felt like this was another one of those moments in his short life that would decide who he was forever.

He decided to think on these thoughts later, they were all so strange and confusing. They were feelings he'd never felt before which only confused and scared him more. He felt like a child learning things day by day. Which added embarrassment to his list of emotions.

He just growled and pushed aside all his thought, it was hard, and went back inside.

"Hey Shadow, what'cha talk about?"

He jumped to his left haring the voice quite literally in his ear on his right.

He heard a giggled and knew who it was, his mind already clearing before even seeing the pink hedgehog.

He paused, almost not wanting to lie to her pretty face "Nothing, just asked me what I thought of the party"

"Oh" she said disappointment on her face like she thought it'd be more important but perked up again "Anyway, I wanted to go shopping, did you want to come?"

Shadow said "I don't have money to shop"

She giggled "Oh you won't be doing any of the buying"

"What, then why am I gonna be there?" he ad never heard of the joke and stereotype of girls shopping trips.

She giggled at him again "You'll see" and grabbed his wrist and threw him in the bathroom "make yourself look good and meet me at the door!"

He sighed and did that, took a shower, fixed his quills and got dressed. He walked outside to find Amy had gotten dressed and freshened up as well and said "Come on hurry up!"

He groaned following and as he left took his jacket.

Amy walked to the car and Shadow in the passenger seat. He sat back and relaxed as Amy backed up the car.

"So did Vanilla want us to buy groceries or something?" he asked since shopping in his mind meant food.

"NO! We're going clothes shopping"

"W-what? You are dragging me out for that, what do you even need me?" Shadow asked feeling it was a waste of time.

She shrugged "Because I need someone's opinion one whether I like good in them or not"

Shadow wanted to say "You look good in anything" but shut his mouth.

She then added "Oh and incase I had a zipper I can't do myself"

He knew what that meant blushed slightly. He really hoped it didn't come to that.

She didn't seem to notice and turned on the radio. He groaned hearing it was pop music but he didn't complain., he just stared out the window.

But he could cause Amy was singing along to the song.

He lightly smiled, she looked cute when she had fun. And despite it sounding terrible he found it oddly nice.

Suddenly she asked "What kind of music do you like" turning down the volume so they could speak.

"Metal, hardrock, classic rock… and the odd song in other genres but only because those particular songs sound cool. Like I might like a song from techno but it's only that one song" he explained.

She hummed then asked "Like what's a random exception?"

He tried to think of one not to embarrassing and said "Well there's 'ghost busters" he chuckled.

"Aww come on everyone knows that one and enjoys it a little" Amy said trying to coax another out.

Her puppy dog eyes flashed at him and he rolled his eyes and scratched his head "Oh fine umm…." He then blushed and said "Promise not to tell anyone?"

She metaphorically zipped her lips and threw away the key out the open window.

"Ok… "Never gonna give you up" by Rick Astley" a massive blush appearing on his couldn't even hold her laughter back for even a second making his blush even stronger. He'd feel like his cheeks would melt.

"YOU GOT RICK ROLLED FOR LIFE!" she howled.

"I knew I shouldn't have answered" he growled her laughter overpowering his voice.

She had to actually pull over cause it was so funny. Her stomach hurt right away and as she laughed she held her stomach. Shadow growled and couldn't take it. He left the car slamming the door.

Her laughter was still heard after he left through the open window but he could hear her gasping and trying to ask him to stop.

He didn't bother and headed for the corner so he could disappear. Unfortunately for him he heard her door open and close, light chuckles right behind him that were slowly dying down.

"Hey… I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt your feelings" She said getting up next to the dark hedgehog still heavily blushing.

"Ya well you wonder why I don't talk to people much" his dark secrets were very embarrassing. Especially the secrets like that.

"I'm sorry Shadow" he turned nd found Amy looked down twisting her foot in the ground and hands behind her back. She obviously didn't mean to hurt his feelings and said "I thought you'd take it easier… I'm sorry" she repeated.

He couldn't stay mad at her and got close and resisted the urge to take her chin in his hand and said softly, softer then anyone had ever heard him speak before "Look at me"

She hesitantly looked up noticing his very soft tone and saw he now had a an apologetic face.

"No I'm sorry. I'm not used to all this. When someone laughs at me I take it more seriously then another person would. I know it was a joke it's just I'm not used to laughing at a person being light hearted instead of malicious or mocking. Those times you and … 'our' friends laughed at me for my video were hard too." he looked away after ending his short explanation.

She smiled, he was really trying and apologized to her. And he never apologized "It's ok Shadow, I'll try to think about that next time ok?" since he actually took the effort to really apologize it was only proper of her to try and be more considerate.

But she also noticed his emphasis on them being 'their' friends "Shadow?"

"Hm?" he hummed as a reply.

"Do you not consider everyone else your friends?" a frown clearly on her face.

He sighed "I consider some of them friends, yes. But People like Manic and Sonia I do not know them. Sonic annoys me, he's only a 'friend' because he doesn't get that I don't like him. Knuckles and I never talk either, but he atleast knows we are not friends. The rest besides a select few are also pretty distant. I've only recently gotten to know Tails" he explained arms crossed, he was lying there was more to it and Amy saw it.

"Shadow" her tone serious "What do you really mean"

The hedgehog looked away "…. I don't feel accepted… like I'm only their friends when I'm around. When I'm not you are all talking behind my back, saying bad a person I am. How much a dick I am. Let me tell you I know this to be true, I've listened to your conversations before. You don't say anything, I'll give you that but I've heard them all say something bad about me atleast once" His anger rising.

"They've all said things like how I would murder someone to complete a goal, how I'm always angry. How I'm a loner who doesn't understand how to be nice. And maybe they are right, but I like to think I am a real person. I like to think I'm more then just an experiment turned weapon to fight aliens!"

Amy shrunk back at his anger but Shadow took a step back and suddenly changed tone "Do you know what it's like to wake up every morning ad your purpose be gone? I was created to save the world from the Black Arm, and I did that…. Now what?... What am I here for now? I completed my promise and my Maria" he looked almost like he was gonna cry but none formed on his face.

"I wake up every morning knowing my purpose in life is over, and now all I am is a thing to government across the globe. A bomb that may or may not go off and destroy everything. And to anyone who knows me I'm a fucking asshole who despises being around people" his sadness apparent.

"I am aloe in this world, shunned by everyone and alone as the only of my kind… But I also know that any meaningful relationship I may make will eventually die… I will always outlive everyone. I could sit back, relax and watch humans prosper and fall until they finally outright kill eachother, and still I'd endure. Why get close to anyone when the only outcome is me leaving them behind, time and time again?" to him this was his worst problem. They'd age and get older, die and he would stay the way he was for eternity.

Amy had just stood their listening to the black hedgehog pace and rant. Pouring out all his emotions, fear and unknowingly his desires to her. She had never thought he had such emotional problems. He always seemed to so calm and only anger when annoyed. It was a good point that he had lived with a purpose most his life and suddenly had to start living without a reason. It had to be hard.

She finally spoke as he looked away, his ears twitch occasionally "Shadow, it's ok. I may not understand how it feels but our friends may speak about you but they know they can trust you in a situation. They only say those things because you come off that way. You give the appearance of a mean guy who doesn't like people. Now I know that because I know you, but that's the hard part" he didn't look at her yet but her words made sense, first impressions were hard to overcome.

"And Shadow, you are not a weapon. You are a person" her hand grabbing his "You feel and care like everyone else. The only people in danger of you are people who make themselves your enemy, or someone who threatens your friends, like me" she referred to his assault on the mugger "If they are worried of you after you saved the word from aliens then they have problems"

Shadow cut in "Remember how it went down. I collected the chaos emeralds and almost didn't save the world. I saved it only because of you ad Sonic timely entrance and later because the Chaotix got lucky and sent Gerald's message… to them I saved them simply because I was told to. Not because I wanted to"

She frowned, he was sort of right. Had Gerald's message been help the Black Hands it was just as likely that Shadow may have done that. She frowned at the thought.

Shadow continued "But I never had malicious intent for the humans. They may have done bad things to me in the past but that was a small fraction… so I say a whole race doesn't deserve to be fuel because some made a bad decision" he truthfully reassured with eased her mind on that subject.

Amy then said still holding his hand warmly "Your purpose is whatever you want it to be. You don't need someone to tell you what t do now. And that is a huge responsibility. What do you wish to do with your life, atleast for now?"

He looked down in thought "I don't know… I have no idea. I guess all I do is work with Rouge and avoid the government"

Amy smiled and said "Do you like doing something in particular?"

He thought and said "I guess I liked the idea of being a protector. And I am only good for fighting"

She jerked his arm forcing him to look at her "No you are not just good for fighting, you are not a weapon or machine. You are Shadow the hedgehog, a living breathing being with the potential to be anything"

He looked at her and saw the seriousness in her voice then his eyes dropped again "T-Thank you" he'd never heard such words directed at him before. It was surprisingly the first time he'd ever thought about that. It didn't hit him instantly but she was right. He was his own person.

He looked to her and smiled "Well… I'll think about it" he said pulling his hand from her grasp only for her to grab it again.

"And Shadow, it doesn't matter that you'll outlive anyone you care about. Just cherish the time you have with them and remember them. Make every moment you have with them as best you can make it. Because in the end when the time finally comes you'll know that you spent as much time as you could with them and that it was good. A life full of good moments and happy faces is better than an empty life of loneliness. It's kinda like how adults get through hearing their parents pass away. They know that they lived a full and happy life and that they should live on for them" she said trying to help him understand.

He looked into her eyes the entire time. This was the most important. To him and her words were absorbed with every ounce of attention he could. He listened, perhaps she was right. It was to better to love and lost, then to never love at all, as a famous man once said.

He slowly pulled his hand away again, she wasn't interrupted this time "Thank you Amy… I appreciate your words. I will think them over… let's get back to your shopping if you still want" he tried to change the subject, but he was definitely still thinking about it.

"YAY, come on we're close to the place I was heading to anyway" suddenly dragging him down the street.

They were there in minutes and walked inside. He sighed noticing the store was entirely for woman "Great…" he rolled his eyes.

He followed the excited woman inside and tried to act natural. But he could feel eyes watching him, and could feel the smirks on the poor guy following the girl.

She started rummaging through some of the selections and pulled out a dress and hung it in front of her and asked "DO you think I look good in blue?"

He looked "Does blue go good with pink?" he wasn't really into matching clothes. He knew black was good with just about anything and he ran with that a lot.

She rolled her eyes and kept rummaging through things until she had a few outfits to try, thank god no back zippers.

Amy went to the changing rooms while Shadow waited silently trying to avoid attention. It clearly didn't work as every so often he heard a giggle from other people. He just lightly growled crossing his arms vowing to never go shopping with Amy again.

She soon came out in several outfits, he liked them all, she only liked two of them though. The ones she ended up with was one with a yellow blouse blouse and white pants. The other was a red t-shirt and black skinny jeans.

Shadow was just glad they were leaving.

"So you think I really look good in those?" she asked as they left.

"Yes, you look great in them" Shadow said not wanting her to ask again.

She smiled skipped a little "So what can we do now?"

Shadow just shrugged as they reached the car. He was going to open the door to get in but Amy slapped his wrist and said "We'll get it later. We're gonna do something else for now"

He once again shrugged just hoping it wasn't something else to embarrass him.

She was still thinking when Shadow just started walking, smirking as he heard her "Huh? Hey Shadow, wait up!"

She got to his side "You got an idea?" hopefully.

He just smirked more "Nope" but confidently just walked down the street going wherever his feet took him.

They walked through the busy city, the sounds of the city almost deafening. Shadow growled "I think I have a real idea, HOLD ON" he suddenly picked her up bridal style.

"Shadow what are you Do-" her voice disappearing with them both as he dashed away.

He felt Amy holding to his neck for dear life, he smirked. Even scared she looked adorable. He would never drop her. He would sooner hit the ground for her then drop her.

He could vaguely hear her screaming as well but the high speed distorted it.

When he finally stopped he could feel her arms wrapped tightly around his neck shivering in fear. Dust shot up in front of them as his kinetic forces pushed everything forward.

He looked down seeing her eyes closed head buried in to his chest "Rose, you know you can let go now"

Her response was slightly delayed but her eyes inched open and blinked. Her eyes drifted upwards meeting his and slowly got out of his arms.

She nervously said with a blush "Sorry… I haven't gone that fast before"

"It's alright" he smiled kindly looking around at their surroundings.. She noticed and did so as well.

They were inside the forest, in fact they were back in the flower grove that Sonic had totally shut down Amy. Shadow hadn't really meant to come here, his feet just ended up here. He felt a little embarrassed about it.

"Why'd we come here?" She asked feeling a little bad being here. Brought back memories of the last time she was here.

Shadow looked to her hearing the uncertainty in her voice, and seeing her face confirmed it "I wanted to get away from the city and go somewhere quiet" he debating telling her what really happened that day but felt that wasn't important.

"I come here sometimes when I get stressed. It's calming and quiet. The scenery is beautiful during at the right times of days.. It's just one of those places, you know what I mean?" he asked.

As she listened she found it a little surprising that this was the same place where Sonic laid down the law and made her the saddest she'd ever been, and this was a place of tranquility for him.

He began to walk through the grove and it's natural paths and picked a flower quickly "The flowers also give off a scent that almost sooths me to the core"

Amy suddenly wondered why he was being so open, first he told her all his fears and desires and now he was telling her of his special place.

"When did you discover this place?" Rose finally asked.

He smiled reminiscing "I found this place years ago when I walking through the forest. I had been pissed off by someone, and I usually went for walks to cool off. Then I found this place, it wasn't quite like this at the time. Less flowers. But over the years it's grown. It makes me think of myself occasionally. Slowly becoming better and better year after year" sniffing the white rose he'd picked up.

She warmly smiled finding it nice to hear that he was becoming better despite what he said earlier. Not to mention he was being open and telling her of another secret. He was on a roll today.

Shadow sighed contently and ripped most of the stem off the rose leaving only a little bit left and turned to the pink hedgehog.

"Here, my helmet ruined that last flower you had" he suddenly gently pushed the flower through her quills just above her.

Amy blushed at his kind action "But it will die within a day or two?" she said sadly.

He chuckled "It's only a short run away for me to get another"

His laugh made her smile as she looked up at the oddly kind and almost normal hedgehog. Her heart beat faster looking up at him. She wanted to reach out and hold him tightly but resisted the urge feeling that it would only push him too far and shut him off. It was an oddly very strong feeling, only matching ones she had for Sonic.

He stared down at her with his crimson eyes, they were so unique. He was probably the only person she'd ever met with natural red eyes, must have come with having Black Doom's blood. Usually they were blank, angry or showing no emotion whatsoever, but now they showed happiness, care and something she hadn't seen before.

His warm smile was odd too, he may have smiled it but it was usually a smirk or barely noticeable. Now he held it so she could clearly see it. His over all face looked soft and caring. All the feelings of dread from being in this place had left her mind as she focused on the black hedgehog.

Shadow finally turned and headed on his way feeling he'd stood their too long. What he didn't notice was Amy stood there for half a second frozen. Feeling like he had just left her hanging there for…. Something?

His hands entered his pockets his mind stuck on that image of her face he'd just seen. He had actually turned away because he had near uncontrollable to pull her into a warm embrace and lock their lips. "She'd never fall for me anyway. I'm me" he thought in his mind as he heard Amy catch up again.

Both felt disappointment, but Shadow knew why Amy was still confused of why she felt like that.

Both were quiet walking along the path of the flower grove.

Shadows mind escaped to the outside world as he looked up and saw a mountain in the distance "That's what we can do" he said aloud snapping Rose from her trance as well.

"W-what?"

Before she got answer he picked her up again and dashed ahead. Climbing the mountain in less then a minute.

Stopping at the tip top he felt Amy holding onto him for dear life again. Although he didn't plan on letting her go yet.

He looked out over the edges trying to find an easy path that was fairly flat and found one. He smirked and said "Rose, ever been on a roller coaster?"

She had slowly gotten away from his chest try and figure out where they were now as he was checking and answered "Yes… why?"

He just smirked and said "Try to keep your eyes open this time"

"Wait what are you doing!?"

Too late he stepped over the edge and began sliding down the mountain, the soft gravel easy enough to slide down.

"AHHHHHH" Amy screamed in fear but he only laughed. He hadn't done something like this in years.

As they picked up speed Shadow knelt down to become more streamline holding onto Amy tightly. His eyes narrowed as he focused on everything and anything ahead of him.

As they went down the hill he would tilt left and right to avoid larger rocks and the occasional tree.

Amy yelled "Stop right now Shadow! You're gonna get us killed!"

He laughed "Can't stop now, got to reach the bottom!" both yelling over the wind.

But now that they were getting lower and their speed increased the gravel was starting to turn to grass and trees came more frequently. His jet shoes activating making him hover over the ground as if he were hovering.

He leaned left to avoid a tree then right to avoid another the forest edge rapidly approaching.

"Shadow seriously stop now!"

He narrowed his eyes again everything getting slower his maximum focused working.

Looking like he was taking no effort at all he zoomed around tress, dodging them like a pro. At some point he found a ramp and jumped off his skates making a strong blast to get him higher. He cleared the tree line now flying through the air.

Amy looked and felt like a bird and managed a smile, they almost hovered in the air from what it felt like.

Sadly it had to end and turn terrifying again as he fell back down. He got lucky and landed in a safe small open patch.

But that's where his luck ended, a down tree on it side stood in his way, too wide to go around. He noticed the tree was propped up slightly on the left and got ready turning to the left until he was in position barely enough to finish the rest of his plan.

He threw Amy into the air hearing her scream his name as he did "All in good time" he thought"

Right before hitting the tree he fell back sliding under it and quickly got to his feet searching the sky.

He spotted his package and started to run to catch up.

He saw her descend still screaming his name in terror. He wasn't gonna make it at this pace.

So he fired his jet skates at full power in a diving motion, he was going so fast he was floating above the ground. He did a flip so he be facing the sky and slid under Amy just before she hit the ground.

Once he had her he held her in a tight hold and gritted as her weight pushed him into the ground. His back sliding against the ground.

They slowed and eventually stopped. Shadows back felt like it was on fire.

He looked up, which was the direction they had been sliding and noticed a tree about a foot from his head. He gulped realizing how close he had been to smashing his head.

But his head jerked downward feeling the shivering mess that was Amy on his stomach. She was shivering in fear arms wrapped around his neck face buried in his chest fur.

He felt a bit like a jerk for what he did, he wanted to have fun not scared the living daylights out of her. He knew he'd need to get her out of her trance though.

"Rose?... Rose are you alright?"

Her eyes slowly opened up finding herself not dead or injured and slowly got off him and panted.

He scratched his head "I… I'm sorry"

She didn't speak, mostly because she was still terrified and trying to breath, which made Shadow frown more. Even when he was trying to have fun he scared people.

She finally looked up at him now sitting against the tree he nearly hit looking sad and depressed but she said "What… were you… thinking!?"

He cowered a bit at her tone and couldn't find it in himself to say anything. He just avoided eyecontact and looked at the floor.

"Answer me Shadow, that scared the hell out of me!"

He could only spout his last sentence "I'm sorry"

"What was that even for!?"

He sighed "I thought it might be fun…" they had been trying to find something fun to do so he tried that, not what she wanted.

She sighed trying to be calm "Ya well I was thrown in the air and nearly hit the ground and got myself hurt!"

"I would have never let you fall" he said sternly catching her off guard.

"I would pushed myself even further had I needed to to save you from that. And I'm sorry for putting you there in the first place" he said letting her know his true intentions.

His tone and truthfulness in his eyes made her understand he meant no harm "Ok… just… don't do it again please"

He nodded "For sure" everything had been going so good then he had to go and think for himself and do that stupid stunt.

He mentally wanted to smack himself for it but sighed as he got up and helped her up too. He may have failed to have fun with her but that wouldn't stop him from being a gentleman.

She appreciated the gesture and almost feel over her knees still shaking, but he caught her.

"You alright?" he asked again.

"Just give me a sec" she said letting her legs calm down, the whole time Shadow awkwardly holding her up.

She finally pushed his hands away and stood by herself. She gave a reassuring nod to Shadow and both started walking towards the city.

Amy knew Shadow had been reckless but he felt a bit bad yelling at him. Admittedly they had been trying to find something fun to do and she wasn't giving any suggestions. So he stepped up to the plate and tried for once to be a fun guy. It backfired but he tried which meant a lot.

"Hey Shadow" he just grunted.

"I'm sorry for yelling I know you were just trying"

He looked to his right at her "It's alright Amy, no need to apologize. I'm just glad you go out of it fine" he then scratched his own back since it burned badly.

She noticed and asked "You ok?"

"I'm fine. Just the slid hurt my back"

She said with concern "Take off your jacket and shirt, it may be worse then you know"

He was about to argue but she was already behind him and so he, with a sigh, took off his jacket and shirt. He heard her gasp seeing his back and asked "What?" now actually worried.

From Amy's view his back quills had been turn up or bent, ruining his sleek back quills perfect curve. But a path or two had been pulled out and fell off just barely revealing slight amounts of skin that was red.

"Oh man you tore this up badly" she frowned removing any stray quills that got stuck.

"I'll be fine" he said knowing it would grow back.

"Ya but I see some of your skin and it looks red. You may need some cream when we get home" Amy frowned feeling a small patch, which caused Shadow to wince in pain.

"Sorry" she apologized.

He just put his shirt and jacket back on feeling every bit of pressure as he did wincing a bit.

"This is probably a stupid question after what we just went through, but do you want me to run us back to the car?" he asked though suspected her to say no.

She hummed actually considering it and said "Only if you slow down and allow me to actually see what's passing by"

He could go for that, it would still only take him a few minutes to arrive at the car still. So he just quietly picked her up again and ran running at a slower pace then he was used to.

The tress wizzed by giving him ample time to avoid them. Amy smiled the wind pushing her quills every which way and watched the scenery pass by.

She trusted his grip and lightly hung off his neck as he travelled back to the city.

She yelled "This is much nicer!"

He smiled glad he could redeem himself slightly and within a few minutes he slid to a stop next to the car.

He let her down as she hopped a bit to the driver side door and said "Hey Shadow, we're all good right?" she felt like he was still upset for her yelling.

He appreciated her concern, he felt bad for nearly hurting her but for her yelling she was totally justified. No hard feelings when it was justified. "We're fine Rose" he got in the car hissing at his back at the seat "God dammit" he groaned.

He heard Amy giggle at him "Ya, you definitely need to cream when we get home"

He didn't want to, but he realized she was Amy and no was not an answer she usually took.

The drive home was pleasant, he got to hear Amy hum and sing a bit soothing him. But every time he was about to relax she'd have to stop or brake and his back would lightly fall back into the seat again and make him hiss in pain.

He couldn't reach back there and realized he'd need help with the cream. Just another embarrassing thing Amy would do for him, atleast it was in the house.

They arrived home safe and sound, Shadows back going numb from the pain as he slipped out.

"God dammit, next time remind me not to catch you"

Amy scoffed "Hey I wasn't in the position by my own choice"

Shadow just rolled his eyes and she threatened to slap his back and he cowered like a kid about to be spanked, his ears curled back in fear. His reaction made her smirk and skip inside.

"She does that way too well" Shadow thought, her ability to change from happy to angry to happy again in seconds.

He followed her inside and hung up his jacket being careful for his back.

"Shadow get in here!" he heard Amy yell from the living room.

He complied seeing her with some cream ready to apply to his back.

"You we really have to do this?" he asked wanting to avoid this.

"Yes" she said simply then pointed to beside her.

He sat in that spot taking off his shirt and letting his back face her more. He felt suddenly scared, it may have been just the way he was but showing his back to someone this closely felt threatening to his health.

But all his worries went away feeling the soothing cold cream on his bare patches. His sigh so satisfied and loud sounding anyone listening outside the room might assume there being a different act being done.

He heard her giggle at him but this one time he didn't even care. It felt amazing, very opposite feeling of the burning feeling he got from the back seat.

"I don't hear ya complaining now" she commented.

"Ya well, now I know what I was trying to avoid. Damn that's good" he groaned in pleasure as she applied to another patch.

He suddenly without even realizing purred slightly making Amy laugh lightly.

He had no idea he'd done it as he said "What?" totally clueless.

Amy just held back laughter "N-nothing… just… turn around please"

"Seriously, what?"

"TURN!" she demanded.

He jerked back the other way compliantly.

This continued for another two small patches all as pleasurable as the last.

"There all done, try not to sit against anything for a few minutes" she warned.

He just nodded and was about to get up but her hands grabbed his shoulders and pulled him down again.

"Hey, you stressed?"

He looked confused "Why would I be stressed" totally honest these were some of the best days he'd had in a long time.

"I wanted to practice on my massaging, I took a lesson or two months ago. I was hoping to use it on Sonic but you know how that went" She explained rubbing her hands together getting ready, like some lucky start of sequence.

He felt he once again had no choice and felt her get directly behind him now. Her legs spread and him sitting away from her inside. He blushed a bit at the position but luckily he was facing away so she didn't catch it. She seemed much more relaxed and calm.

He felt her hands start working his shoulders and surprisingly they were firm but effective. He instantly felt relief with a soft moan.

She seemed to like that and continued.

She worked down his back and said "Ok this may hurt but right after it will be better"

"What-"

Her elbow pushed into his spine hearing a faint crack, she was right it hurt for a second but then he sighed feeling a kink in his back gone.

"Sonic has no idea what he missed" he half chuckled and half sighed.

Amy giggled making his ears twitch in happiness. Her touch was so soft yet firm and all the more it was removing kinks from his back. He could definitely get used to this treatment.

He felt her lightly chop at the inner segments of his spines and at first it didn't feel right until he groaned as all the kinks released at once. His whole body shivered after that before relaxing so much he bent forward.

Having no idea why he was out of breath and said "Amy… can I ask you to do that if I need it again?"

She blushed at his comment not realizing she was that good "Sure. Of course"

He felt warmth in his chest at her reply. He wanted to make a move suddenly test Vanilla theory. He shifted in his seat noticing Amy hadn't move yet and opened his mouth, only to suddenly be interrupted by someone clearing their throat.

Both of the hedgehogs heads snapped to the sound, looking at them were Tails and Cream.

"We aren't interrupting something are we?" Tails joked.

Both hedgehogs blushed madly Shadow even throwing his face into his hands.

He had no idea how much he was interrupting, all the courage escaping Shadow. He inwardly sighed "Next time"

 **So cool this chapter is done. Sleep deprivation hits you hard. I work 8 hours then sleep 10 hours during the day. So it definitely takes up alot of my time. I essentially end up with six hours a day and that is a short amount of time to do anything. I'm sorry if this chapter or the last seems kinda random and events stringing together oddly but it's honestly how I write. I have a major goal in mind and I wing it through the chapter to get to that goal. Since my next major goal is a little bit away so this whole chapter was literally me saying "Ok how can Shadow and Amy spend some time together and also have Shadow open up and say a few thigs" Then like how life sometimes works shit just happens as you go through the motions.**

 **That's a good way to describe how I work. When a character is planning ahead I do actually plan ahead, but when events go like "Let's go out and do something" I literally will at that point make up every word almost on the spot, with maybe an idea or activity I thought of before to get to. It's amazingly bizarre in my mind that I can do that and I feel that I am not going to my full potential by winging half a chapter. But then I think well if I wing it, it can actually feel more natural. Life happens mostly on the spot, and sometimes at complete random. Even when you plan ahead things change. So I guess my writing could(And if I'm wrong tell me) could be like a metaphor.**

 **Sorry once again for another long rantbut I like to talk sometimes. Nothing this long until this chapter but I guess I have a lot on my mind recently. Having my first job that's taking up 3 quarters of my day from actual time spent there and the sleep I need to make up on it.**

 **I feel like a winer explaining this, I have no regrets of this job because I need it. I made some stupid mistakes and the money I'm getting is what I need to make it atleast semi right. (This is not something like a gambling addiction or drugs or whatever) it was me abusing trust I had in the two most important people to me in the world and I want to pay them back.**

… **wow… super open, guess me and Shadow both oened up today. Anyway thanks for reading and possibly reading the authrors notes.**

 **Also shout out to the first review I've received I thank you so much RaCHyy-the-unique-wierdo(I apologize if I forgot a capital or two) but thanks I was getting worried I sucked there for awhile. As I've said I'm new to the sonic franchise(Not that I am not trying my best to learn whatever I can) but I just don't want to screw up on stuff or mess up characters or events(Besides the events of sonic 06, I specifically mentioned I changed that a bit)**

 **Oh and I think it oes without saying at this point but Sonic is not going to be a some crazy mental asshole. I never understood that. Sonic may be a dick sometimes, especially to Amy, but would he literally attack Shadow and kidnap Amy over this. When has he ever shown he loved her that much. At most I can see Sonic changing his mind one day and Shadow getting pissed off at how suddenly Sonic thinks it's ok that he broke Amy's heart so many times over the years and just suddenly think it's all water under the bridge and almost his right to be with Amy now. I can't see Shadow fighting him either because if it's what Amy wants then I think he wouldn't care or would want her to be happy. I can never see Sonic becoming some uber asshole it's just so far out there that he would react that hostile towards Shadow for loving someone he never really showed romantic feelings over EVER.(Maybe not ever but he never pursued it)**

 **God I won't shut up I better go before I write another 10k words of just an authors note.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	9. making bonds

**A/N Once again here another chapter. Still having fun writing this stuff and I hope you are enjoying it out there.**

 **Fun fact I thought was cool(You may or may not have known already) Mephiles the dark was actually consider to be the time eater in sonic generations. Wouldn't that have been kinda cool? Two eggmans and mephiles(Sort of) it was said he was supposed to be somewhat reborn and survived the paradox, so either he'd be fully aware of those events and hate Sonic and friends but them have no idea or would be younger and more naïve and follow eggman. Either way I think it would have been cool. The main villain of sonic together with the arguably the most successful villain in Sonic history(I mean he actually killed sonic and completed his plan to become Solaris)**

 **Second I wanted to say that I know I'm making Tails and Shadow closer especially with this chapter and I just want to say that I still believe Tails and Sonic are best friends and brothers. But like my best friend we can't see and talk to eachother about out problems all the time and it helps to speak with someone else else. Sometimes your best friend doesn't have the best answers for certain topics. Just like how Sonic doesn't give valuable dating advice to Tails but Shadow thinks more clearly about it.**

It had been a few days since he and Amy hung out. He was still a little angry with Tails and Cream. He was right there about to ask Amy if she might consider trying to going out with him, but then those two showed up and ruined it. He'd lost all his courage after that not finding another moment like that to raise his hopes and make his emotions rise high enough to forget about fear.

What had Tails and Cream been there in the first place? Well they came back from school and because they were going out now Tails wanted to be with her a bit.

As he watered the plants for the first time of the day he suddenly thought of a long term plan. If anything it would make the garden look nice.

When he was done watering he went out front and hopped on his bike. He didn't have to worry about Amy who was at work, a day shift for once. Vanilla was off enjoying her day, possibly with Vector. She was vague on that question but it wasn't really his business. And of course Cream was at school.

Shadow silently drove to the nearest place he knew had a garden center. Usually he hated these places cause all they did was take up half the parking lot but today he actually went inside.

He started browsing around hoping they'd have what he needed. Hands in pocket silently keeping to himself he avoided attention.

He smiled seeing what he wanted to find and walked over. Along the table were white roses like the ones from the grove he and Amy had been to.

He rooted through the plants, pun intended, trying to find the best looking one and settled on one that stood by itself, wasn't too big and didn't look damaged.

He walked to the counter and paid what he owed to the nice clerk and was on his way. He very carefully placed the rose and pot inside the side bag snuggling fitting inside and drove home.

Once there he found a spot in the garden he that looked open enough, it was hard cause the garden was covered and nearly no space remained. He found a suitable spot off to the side where it would still get plenty of sun and carefully buried it. He smiled as it stood there.

He gave it some water with a cup he had brought out and said to himself "Well Shadow, let's see if Vanilla is right. Do you have a green thumb?" he then touched a petal with his thumb almost like a good luck charm.

With that he nodded getting up from his kneeling position and got back to the other jobs he needed to do.

Within a few hours he heard the door open hearing two voices, young and laughing.

Obviously Tails and Cream coming home from work.

"Hey guys!" he yelled through the house letting them know he was in the house.

Cream could be heard "Hey Shadow!"

The dark hedgehog chuckled at her enthusiasm, sometimes he wondered how she could be so positive for such long times. He found it exhausting being so cheerful for extended periods of time.

The rabbit and fox walked into the living room and found him taking a quick snack break.

"How ya been today Shadow?" the little asked.

The dark hedgehog gulped down a bite of his sandwich "Pretty good, chores like usual, how about you?"

The fox then said "Pretty good, atleast from what I can tell" he couldn't fully speak for Cream but she nodded in agreement.

"Good to hear. So you staying awhile?" to the fox.

"A little, apparently Cream has been working on a portrait of you sleeping and wanted my opinion"

Shadow smiled "Ya, she started on me when I was sleeping early one morning"

Cream nodded "Ya he doesn't move when he sleeps, it was easy to do"

Tails nodded and followed her upstairs leaving Shadow alone like before. They knew he didn't mind though.

After a few minutes he could hear laughter, he smiled. They really did work well together, both light hearted and looking at the bright side of things. He knew they could take care of each other in bad situations, one being the emotional rock of the other if things went bad.

He thought back to when he unloaded all of his fears on Amy a few days ago. She had just listened to his every word then replied and gave him some hope that maybe he wasn't as doomed as he was.

Like always the thought of Amy recently made his body relax. He still wanted to find a way to tell her how he felt. He was just so afraid she'd so no and that he might ne the one suddenly in a destroyed state. But who would be there to make him feel better?

He thought for awhile just making plans that'd he'd eventually shoot down because he was afraid Amy would flat out reject him. He suddenly snapped from his trance hearing his name called a poke on the shoulder.

His head jerked to see Tails "Ya what?" he asked.

Tails asked "Can I sit down?"

Shadow rolled his eyes "It's a free country"

The younger fox sat down and twiddled his thumbs ffor a few seconds trying to decide whether he should ask his question.

But Shadow beat him "Are you gonna ask me or what?"

Tails ears twitched and said "Ummm…. Ok so Cream and I have been going out for over a week and I want to do something now… but I can't think of anything to be nice or romantic or sweet" the fox feeling embrassed that he was asking at all, especially to Shadow.

Shadow sighed leaning back. His patches had healed and were slowly growing their quills back.

He sighed "Ok so you what about just simply going out and get dinner, or ice cream or whatever you kids do" he said honestly trying. But he had to thik of something a teenager with no money could do.

"Well, maybe. I meant something a bit bigger" Tails said seeing he was trying.

Shadow scratched his chin "Well how about you make something for her. You're a smart kid with gadgets and junk make her something fun or personal"

Tails liked that but asked "Like what?"

Shadow then said "That's not for me to decide. You are the one giving a personal gift to your girlfriend. It's got to be from you not me"

Tails sighed frustrated by his admittedly wise words leaning on the couchs arm.

"Ok, let me think…" his fingers tapped in a rhythmic pattern on his chin.

Shadow just waited watching TV.

Finally the fox said "I got it. She lost Cheese awhile back, I could easily make a replica. Kinda like Omochao but not annoying"

Shadow said "Why not just buy her a new chao?"

"Because Cheese was special. They went everywhere together and now that he's gone she's sometimes lonely. I can tell" a small frown on his face.

Shadow guessed it was his idea and it would either fly or crash and burn "You sure it won't be like Omhcao?"

Tails chuckled "No, less annoying, less talkative, but just be Cheese"

Shadow nodded "If you think that's a good idea. Anything else you wanted?" he asked leaning back with his hands linked behind his head.

Tail debated whether asking would be polite "Ummm… So… while we're on the topic of girls…" his feet swung around nervously "What's the deal with you and Amy?"

Shadow looked to Tails with a warning glance.

Tails looked away basically saying he was backing down.

Shadow then thought, he'd helped Tails so maybe he owed him, but more importantly he needed someone to speak to.

"Alright… fine…" Tails slowly looked back at him.

"You need to promise to be quiet about it" Shadow threatened.

He nodded then took a deep breath "I really like Amy"

Tails listened and said :Ike… how I like Cream?"

Shadow sighed and blushed saying "Even more"

Tails gasped "Wow… does she know?"

"What do you think?" he said depressed answering his question already.

"You got to tell her"

Shadow scoffed "It's not that easy Tails, unlike you I'm Shadow the hedgehog, one of the most anti social, mean people ever. She would never think of me as a potential mate"

"Hey, don't put yourself down like that. You are a nice guy. I mean you've actually helped me with my problems Much more then Sonic ever did" he smiled kindly "Not to mention you two have fun all the time since you moved in"

Shadow looked up at his yellow friend listening…

"Plus you can have fun, that house party showed that. You also know when to drop your tough guy act and show some kindness" he'd personally seen that himself.

Shadow asked "Act? I am a tough guy"

Tails chuckled and simply replied "More like Macho man"

Shadow rolled his eyes "Never gonna live that down"

Tail continued "Plus you can take a joke now. Like just there"

Shadow considered his words and realized he was right. He wasn't that bad a guy and he and Amy had both had first hand experience with him.

He also found it ironic that he had helped the fox with his girl problems and now Tails was doing the exact same for him, didn't inspire too much confidence when your advice giver is also unable to make up their mind"

Shadow smiled to the fox "You may be little but you know what to say when you want to"

Tails scratched the back of his head and humbly said "I think it's because people think more clearly when they are not involved in the situation, hence why you can help think of ideas for my problem and I can help you with yours"

He made a good point. "Well thanks Tails, now I just need to find a way to tell her"

Tails said "Well do what you told me to do. Find a place or situation you know will be special and choose your moment"

Shadow smiled, surprisingly it never came to his mind. How odd it was your own advice left your mind in situations.

"Thanks Tails. I guess it does help to talk to someone" Shadow flashing a genuinely thankful smile.

Tails just smiled back "Anytime Shadow. Anything for helping me with Cream"

Shadow suddenly realized "Oh shit, it's 5! I need to go grab Amy" he hopped to his feet grabbed his keys and jacket and left.

He drove to the diner and found Amy waiting outside "Crap I'm late" he said as he stopped.

He watched as his secret love walked over and asked "What took ya?" she'd been out for nearly ten minutes.

He apologetically asked "Would you be ok if I said I lost track of time?"

Amy shrugged "It happens, and nothing happened so I'm cool"

"Well I'm still sorry for leaving you out here even for that long" he frowned feeling bad.

"Cheer up Gloomy! I'm fine and that's what matters" as she hopped on helmet already on her head.

He felt her arms wrap around him making his stomach swirl for a moment but he drove home.

Like always they went insiee after arriving and Shadow asked "So how was your shift?"

Amy was surprised, he never asked that "Well same old same old. Annoying customers, busy breakfast and lunch. You know that kind of stuff"

He smiled "Makes sense" glad nothing bad happened out of the ordinary.

"How was your day?" she politely asked though knew what he'd say.

"Boring, chores and stuff. Then I went for a quick ride. Came home and lost track of time then picked you up" he listed.

She nodded and heard footsteps and turned "Oh hey Tails, how long you been here?"

Tails made a small wave "As long as Cream has. I see Shadow made it before anything bad happened" subtly saying that Shadow had been worried.

Shadow shook his fist at the fox from behind Amy so she wouldn't see and he just shrugged with a smart smirk like he were saying 'deal with it'

"You were worried, aww, that's cute" she giggled pinching his cheek.

When she walked away he blushed madly rubbing his cheek then glared flaming daggers at the fox who childishly mouth "Shadow and Amy sitting in a tree…"

He barely held back laughter at his own antics.

The only thing Shadow could say in the foxes defense was he was being quiet before saying "Shouldn't you be with Cream?"

He gasped "Oh right!" and bounded up the stairs.

He just smiled at the teen and walked to the couch to watch more TV. He quickly felt Amy sit down next to him back from getting changed out of her work clothes.

He side glanced to her noticing she was wearing a red shirt and white shorts. Good choice, it was pretty hot out today. Although his head turned a bit more unable to stop himself from staring up and down her leg. Her voice snapped him out of it, luckily he had been side glancing enough for her not notice.

"So you done the chores yet?"

He cleared his throat recovering still "Just need to water the garden again in a few hours, so no not really"

"So did you wanna do something today?" the pink hedgehog asked shifting to face him more in her seat.

He thought trying to avoid staring again "Well let's see…. Got roller skates?"

She hadn't thought of those in awhile but nodded "Ya, I'd have to go and find them first. You'll need a pair though, which they didn't have.

He smirked and lifted a foot and said "Remember my jet skates, I can slow down enough for you ya know" like it were obvious.

She looked at them and said "Ok then… well give me a minute" not offended by his tone. She realized it was Shadow talking so you have to excuse his harsher tones.

She hopped off the couch and went to the garage door.

He followed wanting to help so they could going sooner. He blushed as the sight he got coming in was her leaning over looking in a box and averted his gaze. Mostly to control himself and because it was polite. He just looked in another direction and found his own box to rummage through. He got down on one knee to look.

Amy growled "I know they are in here somewhere" having gone through three boxes.

Shadow was on his second box and spotted pink at the bottom. Reaching in he felt a hard shoe shaped object and pulled out. Inside were white and pink roller blades, course she would have that colour scheme.

He pulled out the other and said "Found em" reaching his arm our behind him.

He felt them leave his grip and heard her thank him "God I hope these still fit me"

Shadow stood up after he got everything back in the box and looked back to see her struggling with her skates. Even when she opened them up as much as she could it was not getting through.

He sighed and said "Here let me help" he knelled down in front of her.

She giggled and joked to cover up her embarrassment for his gentlemanly act "Yes bow before your queen"

He rolled his eyes and got a grip of her skate and leg. With both of them pushing it finally slipped on.

Shadow realized his hand was on her leg, bare fur too and barely held back his blush switching to the other.

Focusing he got into the same position as before and both pushed. Although this one was much more stubborn.

They had to resort to having her lean against the wall so she could push as hard as she could. After quite a struggle and repositioning his hands and a few curses from both hedgehogs it suddenly slid around her ankle. Although both of them were pushing so hard that her foot sailed passed Shadow and he jerked forward.

His head stopped an inch from her face since his arms stopped him. If anyone walked in now it would look like Shadow had her against the wall and about to make a move on her.

Both froze at the near headbutt but both blushed feeling their bodies so close to one another. Their eyes met and Shadow got incredibly nervous and pushed away from the wall and said "heh…. Sorry… I didn't mean to…" his tongue tied like a sailor knot.

She stuttered as well "It's fine… just an accident"

Both stood in awkward silence looking away from another blushing hard. Shadow scratched the back of his neck while Amy looked down at her hands fidgeting.

Eventually Shadow fixed his mind together again and cleared his throat "Well…. Shall we go?" trying to smile.

She nodded still looking away. "Yes!... GO that's a good idea"

He was already heading for the garage door and pulled up the door.

He then heard Amy chime up again "Oh and… I know I didn't mention this before but I'm not that great at this" her blushed came back "So… could we go slow, atleast for a bit?"

Shadow found it odd she didn't know how to skate profficently enough feel confident but shrugged "Ya of course" hus shoes letting off a low whine as his skates powered up and had enough lift to allow hi to slide. Since he was at the top of the driveway he drifted down the small incline backwards watching her incase she stumbled or tripped.

"Hey Show off" she whined and slowly followed glancing at him then the ground repeatedly, legs wobbly. She went down the incline and yelped feeling herself go faster.

Shadow reached the bottom as that happened and leaned forward the slightest to stop and calmly reached out a hand giving her the signal to drift his way.

She did and she grabbed his outstretched hand and his drifted alongside her now helping her keep balance and slow a bit.

"So are you so unskilled in this that you don't know how to move forward or stop?" he asked hoping she knew those.

She nodded but said "Stopping still frightens me, I can barely keep balance while staying like this and tiling back a foot throws it off hard. I usually hit the floor instead" her embarrassment apparent.

He smiled and said "Ok, then try this" he kicked lightly to get ahead of her and said "Ok try to stop us both, I'll keep you from falling if you lean too far back"

His kindness was so welcome right now and she tried almost instantly leaning too far but he leaned back a bit to keep her up.

He new the problem already from the way she did it "Don't lean backwards, put your stop foot ahead of your other foot, that way your leg angles the stopped to the ground with little balance change"

He kicked forward getting them moving again allowing her to try again. This time she took his advice and led with her braking foot. Precisely like he said it was far easier, and after a try or two she was able to do it without majorly needing his help.

So he tried the next step and let go and stayed a foot away and said "Ok I'll stay this far away, if you fall I got you"

Amy was confident in his speed so she kicked forward lightly as his kicked forward so he'd go backwards. She hesitantly tried again and waving her arms to keep balance. She leaned and bobbed in every direction but recovered every time and soon was stopped.

She heard him clap "There lesson one done"

Amy sarcastically replied "Such a massive step"

He gave her a look and crossed his arms "Well I could always just pull you down the road and force you to stop at full speed"

"NO!" her heart jumped but he laughed at her.

When he was done he asked "So do you know how to build speed and maneuver?"

"Sort of, like I can build speed but I rarely go much faster. As for turning, I suck at that too" she felt so embarrassed for being so useless on these things compared to him. Since he actually skated when at high speeds she could tell he was basically a master.

"Ok get some speed and try to turn and let me analyze you" and smirked making her groan at his bad thoughts.

Despite the comment she complied and kicked moving forward with him staying right beside her.

She made her turn and would have fallen had Shadow not had lightning fast reflexes.

Once they were both standing again he said "You are trying to turn with your ankles. I understand your balance is bad but when you turn try opening your legs a bit and leaning in that direction, the side you are turning to keep that leg bent. I swear it helps"

She followed his advice and with little effort with his instructions completed a turn and cheered "I did it!"

He clapped again "Ya you got it, whoever tried to teach you before sucked"

She rolled her eyes and Shadow asked ashed her to do it several more times to mae sure she had it down. Then he asked her to also stop which she was able to do with a bit of difficulty.

Over the next hour he taught her what would make everything incredibly easy and soon she confident enough to increase speed to a normal walking pace.

Amy said "Thanks for being so patient with me Shad" her blush appearing again.

He surprisingly wasn't blushing, he felt he should but for once he wasn't. He felt confident right now and it may have been because he was teaching her something he was amazing at.

"No problem Rose, would you like to atleast go down the street now?" his hand open palmed waving to the area ahead of them.

She giggled "Ya, sure"

Both kicked forward going at the speed she was comfortable with. The whine of his jet skates were now like background noise so it didn't bother them anymore, but it did prompt Amy to ask a question "How do those things sty fueled?"

Shadow looked down at them and said "There's a lot of crazy science behind it but basically it sucks in air and rapidly forces out the bottom. When I want to go really fast and it makes the jets it makes a chemical reaction and basically ignites the air somehow and poof they are jets" As for how they work for so long they have crazy science batteries and shit that absorbs the kinetic force of my steps" he explained.

She purposely made a face like she were brain dead making the black hedgehog chuckle "Ya as I said, a bunch of crazy science and shit. It's easier to just say "Because it just works"

She shrugged "Whatever. When'd you get them?" obviously it was on the ARK at some point but was after he was fully grown or did they magically grow with him.

Shadow thought "I think I got the day I was fully grown. My mind had already been imprinted with the ability to use them somewhat and with practice I just got better"

Amy nodded to his answer "So have they ever gone off when you didn't want them to… also how do they know when you want them to work?"

He chuckled "That's the beauty of them, only I can wear them. If anyone else tries to wear them they will feel an intense neural shock every few seconds until they take it off because it neutrally connects to my brain. It hurts them so badly because it's configured to only be used by me and the wrong brain signals hurt badly" he explained. This time easier to understand.

"So basically don't touch them?"

"Exactly" he smiled.

By now they were crossing the street to the next block and Shadow asked a question next "So what's with the rings on your arms? I doubt they are the same as mine"

She looked at them and said "Well… first off they look nice, second they are stuck on me forever. And third I kinda wished I could be Sonic age so he'd notice me and these rings made it happen" she felt bad revealing this.

"Wait… you are younger then you appear?" he asked eyebrow raised.

She nodded frowning "I look twenty but I'm actually more like 15 or 16"

He noticed the frown and thought of something to make her smile "Well if you don't the fifty years of cryo sleep I was in, I'm only about five and a half" getting the idea from what Vanilla said a few days ago.

She made a short chuckle "Ya you're right. Luckily the rings allowed me to rapidly mature over a few months and now I'm 20 in body and soul"

He nodded "My genetics just made me mature with my age, if not I'd barely be able to speak full English or count to ten"

Amy felt good knowing she wasn't quite alone in this. She could never remove the rings so she got used to them, after awhile they practically blended into her look. But hearing that he was even younger then her made her not feel so self conscious and worried.

She asked "What do yours do?"

He smirked "They are inhibitor rings. Basically they regulate my power to more manageable levels. When I remove them my powers spike and I can take on armies with ease. Only problem is I get tired very quickly and if I push too far I could kill myself. I've never had to use them yet but Gerald made special reservations in my mind to tell me that"

She was in aww at how powerful he was and realized just how little any of them could do against him if he suddenly decided he had enough of the planet. Like Superman, the only thing holding him back from global domination is his conscience.

He stayed quiet knowing what thoughts were going on his mind, he'd thought of them all before for several hours.

But he broke the silence "You aren't shaking anymore" noticing the entire conversation she had slowly relaxed in her skating.

The pink hedgehog gasped looking herself over and smiled feeling good for getting better and said "Man we should do this more often, maybe one day I'll be a pro too… except without your crazy speed"

Shadow chuckled at her "Maybe one day, but can we keep the awkward moment after putting on the skates out of it next time?" making both blush remembering that moment. So close, they could feel eachother breath, feel the others warmth. Hell one of their legs even rubbed against eachother now that they could clearly look back.

"Ya. If we keep doing this I'll probably buy a new pair that fits" fingers going through her quills nervously.

"Good idea" he said softly.

The two enjoyed the silence. Amy now more confident in her skating but still not as casual as Shadow was. He was constantly ready incase she suddenly feel out of nowhere.

They reached the end of the street and stopped "Wanna head back?" the dark hedgehog asked thumb pointing back down the street.

"Sure, this time I'm gonna go a bit faster so watch out for me please" she asked feeling very confident now.

"Of course" he bowed slightly making her giggle. They both turned back for the house and Amy picked up the pace a bit to a jogging pace.

She was a bit wobbly and her arms stretched out to keep balance but she was doing fine so far. Didn't stop him from being ready to catch her at any moment. Her wobble got a little further and Shadow jerked out grabbing her stomach like a bear hug.

She gasped and yelped but then said "Hey Shadow let go!" not angry more playfully as she tried to pry herself from his grasp.

He almost did but had a nasty idea. He pulled her close and side glancing to the left to look at her. His chin over her shoulder making her blush.

"Hey if you insist" he smirked and suddenly started kicking forward picking up speed.

"Hey wow stop!, don't do this again!"

He had a plan, he'd never leave her side always wrapped around her snuggling picking up speed and said "Just keep your feet on the ground you'll be fine, I got ya"

She yelped suddenly feeling him loosen his groip but he was never more then a foot away from her. He kicked moving around her and ended up in front of the pink hedgehog. He had both hands clasped with her, he knew constant contact would calm her enough to keep calm…ish.

Her terror grew to anger at him "You better stop us!" totally honest they were going at only running speed at best a slow sprint.

"What'cha gonna do about it!?" he challenged wanting to see if she'd use her brakes like he taught her.

Amy growled and quickly figured out his plan and used her heel stop to slow down. He smirked and said "Good you were listening"

She slowed again stopping in front of the house, the smell of burnt rubber in the air from her stopper.

She still shoved his chest "I told you not to do that!"

He shrugged with a 'meh' like expression as his skates turned off.

He walked up the driveway and Amy yelled "Hey, I got better but I can't get up there myself"

He sighed rolling his eyes and offered his hand, all gentleman like.

She groaned at his chivalry but secretly liked it and too his gentle hand. Once she di he dragged her up the driveway and back into the garage.

She sat down on a box and started the impossible task of removing the skates again.

She grunted and cursed trying and Shadow said "Here I'll help again" since it was now a pulling job he didn't expect anything bad to happen this time.

Once again grabbing her leg and skate he pulled while she pulled back her leg and tried to stay in place.

Like before the first was fairly easy-ish but the second was a bitch to remove.

It came to a point that Shadow pulled so hard she came with him and he fell backwards onto his back. The skate slipped from his grasp and both grunted.

Opening their eyes they found themselves in an even worse position then before. He on his back while she was on her knees sitting on his stomach-chest area.

Shadow gulped blushing again as she did too and both didn't know what to do. Their mind both freezing entirely. To make matters worse Amy was leaning over him from the momentum. Her hands were on his chest curled up in his chest fur. Her quills dangled down touching his face. Once again he felt her breath on his face and her scent. It was near intoxicating. His eyes even started playing tricks on him.

If you saw any corny movie and saw the scene of the two lower seeing eachother for the first time and the screen went red and everything blurred besides the other person. Ya he had that going on right now. His soul screamed to kiss her and end his toture.

His heart beat quickened, he could almost feel their faces drift closer until they heard the door leading into the house open.

"You guys alr… WOW!"

Both snapped from their trance looking to the voice. Amy leaning back up not in Shadows face anymore. The emotions he had been feeling all gone and replaced by extreme embarrassment.

Tails was poking his head out the door also blushing for intruding.

Amy quickly rolled off the male and his body finally loosened up. His soul sighing in massive frustration.

"No Tails, we're alright… just a stubborn skate" her blush heavy.

Shadow noticed one thing was accomplished, the finally pull before she fell onto him had managed to pry it off.

Tails stuttered in embarrassment, I'm sorry… I…. I'm gonna leave… ok" slipping back inside leaving the two hedgehogs alone.

Shadow was still on his back recovering from what happened while Amy got up and looked away nervously.

"Sorry I didn't mean to…"

He nodded finally getting up as well "No it's ok…" stuttering badly in his nervous state. He got up he caught a glimpse of her heavy blush. Somehow it amused him to see her also nervous, and made him feel a but better.

He cleared his throat "Well umm… guess… we're done in here" walking to the door Tails had just been in.

Amy nodded with a short hum and followed him out. Something told both of them that they weren't talking for a few hours.

Like they suspected the awkward air stayed and it kept the two hedgehogs apart. Amy stayed in her room while Shadow hung around in the living room watching TV, until he had to go and water the plants again.

While doing this he heard the backdoor slide open. He side glanced to see it was Vanilla. He was a bit surprised, usually she was out longer.

"Hey there Momma Rabbit" is voice slightly depressed.

"Hello Shadow. How have you been today?" she asked smiling but clearly heard his tone.

"Mostly fine, you?"

"Just enjoying my day. What happened to you?"

Shadow listed off his day "Tails came over and we talked about stuff, then I picked up Amy. We tried to figure out what to do then. We ended up roller skating and…"

"I don't mean to be rude and interrupt you, but roller skate? She isn't the best at that" Understatement of the year.

"Ya I know, I spent an hour just getting her confident enough to go walking speed" he chuckled.

"You actually managed to teach her? Well then… good teaching she was always really scared to even be in those"

Shadow smiled but then remembered how awkward things were now "Ya well… things got awkward" he frowned.

Vanilla was surprised to hear that "How?"

He sighed hand over his eyes "Those skates are just a bit too small for her" mostly to himself.

She gave him an awkward look so Shadow briefly explained…

"Oh… well… that is awkward" the rabbit said after his little story.

Shadow nodded having been doing his chore through the whole story "Yup, haven't spoken since we left the garage"

Vanilla made a knowing smile "Well give it a bit, then talk to her. It will all be fine. It was an awkward moment, not an argument or a fight"

He smiled needing to hear that. His mind was at ease knowing it wasn't as bad as he thought.

"Thanks, I'll do that in a bit" appreciation clearly in his voice.

The mother smiled "Well I'm gonna relax a bit before I start making dinner. Did you want anything?"

Shadow shook his head "No, I'll take whatever you give me"

She nodded and went back inside while finished off his chore, giving a bit of extra attention to his newly planted rose. He smiled looking down at it.

Shadow eventually got up and wrapped up the hose and went back inside chilling out on the couch for another hour.

Tails was still around and walked downstairs, first saying hi to Vanilla then walked to Shadow and sat down.

For a moment neither spoke, ails visually trying to find a way to start a conversation.

Before he said anything Shadow just said bored sounding "What?"

"Ummm… so… I didn't mean to… you know… mess that up" he felt that Shadow had made a move and he barged in hearing the noise and ruined it.

Shadow sighed "I wasn't trying anything… her skates are too damn small and while trying to pull it off I kinda took her with me"

The fox nodded but said surprised "Oh… so… nothing was happening" his conscience feeling a bit better.

But he destroyed it again by saying "Despite it being an accident, I was this close to actually making a move" his hand gesture making his thumb and finger close together.

"Oh…." He frowned sadly looking down.

Shadow knew his confidence was fragile, better than it used to be but still easily broken compared to others. "It's not your fault. You heard a loud noise ad came to help. To be honest I got plenty of time to make a move again. If you hadn't come and something bad did happen I'd be more pissed"

Tails got his meaning, asking a girl out could wait in comparison to helping a friend had something been wrong. He smiled at the hedgehogs kind words liking that Shadow was becoming more of a friend.

Shadow then changed subject "What you and Cream been up to today?"

"She insisted on do a portrait of me. That's why I've been in and out of her room all day. Got to take breaks every so often. Sitting still for hours hurts the back" he said rubbing his sore back.

Shadow chuckled "Aww, that's sweet" a joking and somewhat mocking tone. He received a roll of the foxes eyes.

"You got the easier one, you got to sleep during yours"

Shadow smiled at the boys fake anger then asked "So I know you only thought of it today but you know how you're gonna do your omo-Cheese?"

"Ya I know how I'll do it. I just hope she likes it. I'm worried she might not like the idea of having Cheese again, like to let him sleep in peace" the fox explained his worries.

Shadow then said "Why not just buy a chao egg then. New chao for Cream and it's not Cheese"

"I thought of that but I wanna try Robo Cheese first. If she doesn't like it I can always just scrap him for parts and re-use them elsewhere"

Shadow looked to the fox "That's a little harsh, you could make Cheese again and then just tear him apart?"

"Sorry, it comes with being a mechanic and stuff. You can detach from your creations and be ready to end them at a moments notice. I'm not saying I'm heartless I just keep my mind open to the idea of getting rid of it until know it needs to stay or not. Make sense?" Tails tried to explain.

"No that makes sense" the dark hedgehog nodded.

"Good"

"So… how's everyone?" Shadow vaguely asked.

The younger fox looked over "Who do you mean?"

"Like.. Sonic, knuckles and everyone" he had a hard time asking this for some reason.

"Oh well, Sonic is Sonic. Knuckles is back on his island protecting his emerald like always. Chaotix are actually doing good business wise last time I heard. Ummm Sonia and manic are living together for now and got jobs. Rouge… well even I can't keep track of her" he explained then tried to think of someone else.

"Last I heard Omega is making his own business" Shadow said.

"He is?" Tails replied surprised by that.

"I mean when he's not freelancing his services to anyone who pays or… dancing" Shadow almost didn't say the last part.

"Dancing!?"

"Apparently from what Rouge says he's a dancer now… ya weird right?"

"Very weird" he nodded in agreement.

"What kind of stuff are you doing besides school and Omo-Cheese?"

Tails put a finger to his chin "Well my big project right now is making a new plane. Hard part is finding a way to make it better then it already is. It's practically a space ship now"

"Damn… next time aliens attack and we need the ARK I'm going to you" Shadow joked making the fox chuckle back.

"Sure of course" he nodded.

"So you think Creams portrait of you so far looks good?" not that he'd seen it he was just asking opinion "Like truthfully"

Tails smiled "It's all good actually, except maybe the eyes. I thik she's putting too much into the eyes, making me look like some crazy anime character with googly eyes"

Shadow chuckled "maybe, she obviously likes your eyes then if she's putting that much effort into them"

Tails blushed "I guess you're right"

Shadow smiled at the blushing fox, admiring him for actually manning up asking his crush to go out with him. At this point in time he felt the young fox had more courage then he had. That was embarrassing to admit, even just in his mind.

"Well… I better head upstairs and let her continue before dinner. Apparently I'm staying for that" Tails shrugged getting up.

Shadow just smirked "You're trapped my friend. You're stuck here with me forever now" making both males laugh.

He heard the teen walked upstairs and continued to sit by himself with only the TV to keep him company.

He could smell food in the air after another hour and inhaled the scent. He loved Vanillas cooking, he had joked once that she could be a professional chef if she wanted to.

He heard her kind voice yell "Shadow, go get everyone!"

The hedgehog turned off the tv and walked upstairs going to Creams room first, mostly because he wanted to speak with Amy a sec afterwards.

Inside her heard light chuckles and knocked "Hey you two better not being doing anything bad, cause it's dinner time" he quickly heard two people walk to the door and come out. Both rabbit and fox headed downstairs and Shadow went to Amy's door.

He knocked but got no reply and guessed she was either napping or had her music in her ears. So he cautiously opened the door. Inside like expected was Amy at her small desk typing away at her laptop and ear buds in her pink ears.

He stepped inside and reached out to touch her shoulder. On the screen he vaguely saw "Dear diary" guess she had a a diary on her laptop.

Apon touching her shoulder she jerked and closed it and turned seeing his face "Hey, you can't just barge into here, what if I had been naked or something?"!" pulling out her ear buds. The comment making Shadows ear twitch secretly finding that incredibly intriguing.

"Sorry, I knocked and you didn't hear me so I kinda had no choice. Anyway it's dinner time" he explained.

Her anger disappeared to his logical explanation "Good I'm starving" getting up from her chair.

Shadow led her out of the room letting her close the door and both walked downstairs. Once down they helped Vanilla set the table and soon everything was on the table. Ever since the first dinner they had Shadow took the head of the table, the first few nights he still disagreed but they continued to insist that he sit there, so he eventually stopped arguing.

Like always Shadow got ready to do grace but Vanilla said "Why don't you do grace tonight?"

Shadow looked surprised and said "Ok I'll try"

Everyone clasps their hands and put their heads down and Shadow awkwardly started "Thank god for the food we are about to eat….. And thank you for helping keeps Amy's balance today.." he jokingly said "And hank you for surrounding me with these wonderful woman… and fox. I don't know where I'd be without them, probably some gutter or in the forest" he smiled opening his eyes seeing them all smiling at him too.

He looked down slightly embrassed having said that but he honestly had come to realize these were the closest people to him in his life. Rivaling his relationship with Maria.

"Thank you Shadow, you are wonderful as well" Vanilla smiled everyone agreeing to that.

He looked to Cream and Tails who gave him genuine smiles, he was sure the fo was surprised considering he didn't live here but they were friends. They helped eachother and the talk on the couch showed him they could joke around comfortably.

He looked to Amy, ahh his secret rose. She was smiling as well to him and it warmed his chest like it always did. With that smile all the awkwardness left his mind.

With that everyone ate a sense of family hanging in the air after what Shadow said. All them at one point thinking that if someone had mentioned weeks ago that Shadow would be living with them and they'd all be enjoying it they'd call them crazy.

As Shadow ate he thought "Well I may not have admitted my feelings for Amy today but I did help her skate, helped out Tails and got all touchy feely with his grace statement. That's enough for me today" For now he could live with just that. There was always tomorrow to reach his final goal.

After dinner he helped clean up like always and Vanilla said "That was very sweet of you Shadow you know that?" referencing what he said during grace.

He sheepishly scratched his neck "Well I'd be lying if I didn't mean it"

Vanilla smiled again and said "Well I think you are wonderful too. You are such a sweet man, as much as you don't like to admit it"

"Ya well don't go spreading it around" he smiled at her words.

Vanilla then suddenly gave him a hug and gave him a motherly kiss on the cheek.

He was taken back a bit that but hugged back finding a strange warmth unlike the one Amy gave him. More familiar emotions from this one. Somewhat like what he got when he was with Maria. He realized she was like family to him and said "Thanks for letting me stay here. Like for more then just a roof over my head"

Vanilla got his meaning "You are welcome Shadow"

The hedgehog finally let go and blushed making her lightly giggle at him. They silently went back to work all the words they wanted to say floated in the air both of them able to feel it.

Shadow realized this was his family now. He may not have meant to have it happen but this had become more then just a place for him to stay. Almost like a home now. And the people inside like friends, no family members. Cream like a younger sister. Tails like a younger brother he could teach, and finally Vanilla sort of like a mom.

Amy was the only one who broke that rule considering his feelings, but she felt like family anyway.

When he was done helping Vanilla went upstairs and he stayed to watch TV for a bit. He felt so fulfilled, like everything in his life was finally coming together. Only weeks ago he thought living here would be terrible but now he loved it here. He was almost afraid of the day Rouge finally called and had a job for him.

Infact he was terrified. He'd have to move out and what if they forgot about him or he went back to his old self. It scared him so much he didn't realize someone was coming downstairs.

"Hey Shadow" he jerked turning around seeing Tails.

"Hey" he guessed the fox was leaving cause he had his bag with him now.

"So I'm getting out of here. Thanks for talking to me today too" he waved lightly.

He turned but Shadow said "Wait!"

The fox turned as Shadow got up "Listen little fox, don't tell anyone about all the touchy feely nice stuff I said today ok?" to which the fox nodded having already planned that. Then pulled out his phone "And don't tell anyone this either but you can have my number" To him this was now a gesture of trust, ever since Amy had taken his number under his nose he'd given it only to Vanilla and Cream, and now Tails.

The fox knew that it was big and grabbed his phone and they saved eachother number. Tails felt so good, his self-confidence was sky rocketing, he had the trust of Shadow making him smile with glee.

"Thanks, don't worry I won't tell anyone I promise" he said putting it away and looking up at the older hedgehog.

Shadow returned the smile, smaller but just had meaningful and said "Good night little fox, until next time" reaching out to shake his hand which the fox took happily.

As they ended they heard someone bounce downstairs and it was Cream "I almost forgot!" she yelled hugging the fox tightly. She had done it so fast she caught his arms in the hug too so he had no ability to hug back but chuckled happily.

"See ya around Cream" he said through his laughs.

Shadow just watched amused at the young couple while Cream let go and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Tails blushed and noticed Shadow mimicking him from earlier today also mouthing the kissing in a tree song. Felt good being on the other side. His blush only strengthened kissing her cheek as well.

The little fox stuttered "W-well… I better get going"

He heard Shadow holding back laughter then Cream giggle "Bye Taily!" her nickname going public which only made his blush increase more.

He left and Shadow erupted into laughter. He knew if he ever gained the courage to ask out Amy he'd probably be embarrassed too but for now he was taking a laugh where he could.

Cream just skipped back upstairs wanting to read a hit leaving the dark hedgehog alone again.

When Shadow calmed down he went back to watching TV. When it got late he heard Amy walk downstairs and walk behind him. He felt her hands run through his quills "Hey what'cha doing?"

He liked her playing with his quills and answered "Just chillin. You?"

"A little bored" Amy replied. Now leaning on him, her hands on his head and chin on top of them.

He didn't mind and said "Wanna sit with me a bit?"

"That was my intention whether you asked or not" she said walking around and sitting on the cushion beside his.

"You were really nice at dinner you know that?" she smiled.

"Ya Vanilla and I talked about it" he nodded.

Silence reigned between them both until Amy shivered "I'm getting a blanket"

Hopping up she went to a near closet and grabbed a big blanket and came back smothering herself inside. After a sec she asked "You want some?"

Shrugging Shadow took half the blanket they sat together in silence.

Eventually he felt Amy snuggle up to him and looked to see she was half awake. He shifted so she could rest easier. This meant wrapping an arm around her and her head leaning on his chest. He had déjà vu from that other night.

He heard light snoring after awhile and finally answered the call his body had been telling him to and kissed the top of her head smiling. Perhaps he'd get the courage to ask soon. His mind hopeful for the future, the small amount of fear still in the back of his mind.

That didn't matter right now as he shifted a got comfortable and also feel asleep.

 **So that's chapter 9, a little shorter then the last few chapters but only by a few k. I hope it's fun for you guys cause I love it too. I'm still thinking of a way to get Shadow to ask but I have a possibilities. As for Tails and Shadow being friends I hope you guys are enjoying that.**

 **I kinda see them like brothers in this story. Like Sonic and Tails are the fun brothers who are like best friends, while Shadow and Tails have the more mentor brotherhood.**

 **Besides all that I just want to say thanks for reading so far to anyone who is still keeping up. I promise I'll finally get them together soon, just need a bit more time.**

 **Guess that's about it UNTIL NEXT TIME!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	10. Make him understand

**A/N Man I'm on a roll. Last time I was in this good a groove and sending out chapters like this was back when I first start fanfiction and was doing my Spyro story. It has really short chapters compared to these and terrible writing compared to now but ya.**

 **Here's the chapter… NOW!**

Shadow had awoken to find Amy was still leaning against him in her sleep and pet her quills, but let her sleep. He continued to her quills until she stirred and moaned waking up.

"Mmmm" she hummed lifting her had off his chest "Morning Shadow" rubbing her eyes.

"Morning Rose" he smiled letting her sit up and his arm returned to his side.

"You sleep well" Shadow asked.

"Good" she replied stretching unknowingly giving Shadow a nice show.

He reluctantly got up from the view and said "I'm gonna take a shower"

He heard her say "Leave some warm water for me" to which he agreed.

He took a quick shower leaving hot water like he promised. Passing by her as they swapped rooms. She closed the door and Shadow had to shake thoughts of her in the shower from his head "Bad Shadow" he whispered to himself.

After that he got some breakfast, deciding to make pancakes for everyone while also making himself a coffee.

When he was close to finishing his first batch heard light footsteps approached and said "Morning Cream"

"Morning Shadow, those pancakes?" he heard her ask.

"Ya, want some?" he offered which she nodded.

So he gave the first three to her and said "I sound just like your mom right now but hurry up, Tails will be passing by in a bit"

She nodded and ate quickly before getting her stuff ready. Vanilla came down during all this in her robe like always.

Both hedgehog and little rabbit said "Morning, except Cream hugged her mother.

Vanilla hugged her back before waving her off to get ready and said "Shadow, you making pancake?"

"Yup. You want the next batch?"

"Yes please" as she poured herself some coffee from the pot Shadow had made.

She took a sip and hummed warmly.

Shadow had the next batch ready and gave her a plate and let her add anything she wanted. She ate the first bite and made a high pitch satisfied hum "This is good. Your pretty good"

He shrugged "You either cook for yourself when you live alone or starve"

The older rabbit shrugged "Guess you have a point there"

They both heard the shower turn off and expected Amy to come out soon. Shadow continued to make another batch of pancakes for her next.

Within ten minutes she was out in her fuzzy pink robe. Her quills were still wettish and messy. Despite all that he still found her beautiful "Hey, want some pancakes?" he offered seeing her enter.

"Oh man I could totally go for some pancakes right now, give em over" her eyes ravenous with hunger.

He chuckled and hand her a plate with the next batch letting her choose whatever she wanted to add herself.

He made the last batch for himself and sat down with the woman.

"So what's everyone gonna do today?" Vanilla asked looking away from her paper.

Cream shrugged but Amy teased "Hang out with Tails I bet" a smirk on her face explain her meaning.

Cream blushed and the mother rabbit eyed them both. She didn't know about her and Tails.

Shadow noticed and sunk in his seat a bit to try and stay out of the conversation. Amy realized that Vanilla didn't know yet either and bit her lip.

The mother rabbit then crossed her arms "Tell me" stern voice catching them all off guard. Luckily for Shadow her eyes never looked to him, apparently he wasn't suspicious.

After some silence between the two girls silently trying to ask each other who should answer until Cream sighed "Tails… asked me to be his girlfriend…." She looked down frightened her mother would disapprove.

Surprisingly Vanilla frowned "Why didn't you tell me honey?" her voice soft and slightly hurt.

Shadow and Amy looked to one another hearing the woman's tone and it made Cream frown more.

The smaller rabbit meekly said "I thought you'd be angry…"

"Oh honey, I've always been worried that you'd start dating but you chose the one boy I liked. I've known Tails liked you a lot for years. I was hoping he'd liked you this much. He's such a nice boy" Vanilla surprised everyone with how accepting she was of the idea. They were sure it was only because it was Tails.

Cream smiled at her mother and said "Oh thank you mom. You are amazing!"

Amy and Shadow smiled the scene looking to one another for a moment then back to the rabbits.

"So… you are ok with all of this?' Cream asked to clarify.

Vanilla nodded but said sternly "Only if you were are good. I don't want to hear you two doing anything overly stimulating. You hear me?" finger pointed at her.

Cream groaned "MOOOOM, Tails and I are not like that. I promise"

The two bystanders just smiled at her and Vanilla made a stern nod "You had better, or he's staying out of my house forever"

Cream gulped "Yes mom" she nodded making sure to tell Tails that later.

With that conversation over and problem resolved it was one less thing anyone had to really worry about.

Vanilla broke the silence explain what she'd do today. I might call up Vector, or surprise visit him at work if he's there"

Amy said "Oh we're gonna see freak gator-rabbit babies soon for sure" making everyone chuckle, the only exception was the older rabbit blush.

"It's a little early for that…" Vanilla tried to defelct the joke but her blush made them all laugh more.

After finishing laughing Amy said I ws just gonna go and buy some stuff before heading to work tonight.

Shadow said "I should get out for a bit. I stayed inside most of yesterday"

They all nodded at their plans and soon all were finished breakfast.

Amy and Vanilla went upstairs to get dressed while Shadow did the same in the bathroom and came out. Cream was ready and he asked "SO were you actually gonna hang with Tails?"

She nodded "I still need to finish the portrait of him" revealing it and showing the dark hedgehog. Looking it over he found the pictures was almost totally drawn out, it really resembled the fox too. All it was missing was some finer detail and colour.

"This is impressive, whatever happened to me?"

She said "I'm still working on you" flipping the pages to where his picture was and showed him. It hadn't changed much since he last saw it, just some more shading and more realistic curves. He still thought she was making his nose too big but she disagreed.

"Well it looks fine so far. You really got my scowl down" he joked, the picture was of him sleeping. Apparently atleast on that night he slept very calmly.

"I'll get it done soon, I promise" she smiled looking up at the hedgehog.

Shadow looked out the front window and saw Tails outside waiting "You better get going, your boyfriend is waiting"

She blushed at the word but nodded "Ok see ya later Shadow!" then hopped out of the house.

He watched outside as they greeted eachother, exchanged kisses on the cheek then walked down the street holding hands. The dark hedgehog smiled warmly at them knowing they'd be together for a while.

He turned hearing Amy come downstairs who was wearing a pink top and blue jeans. "So do I look ok?" Amy asked twirling around for him.

"You look fine" he wanted to say something else but he felt it was too strong.

Amy smiled and grabbed her purse and said "I'll see you around Shad!" and left the house.

He deiced to get ready to leave as well, he had no idea what he'd do but he just wanted to be outside. He let Vanilla know he was leaving the house so she could lock up and walked down the road.

He let his feet send him somewhere and found himself walking down a road that wasn't busy fir this time of day. He wanted to avoid people and have a relaxing walk. Luckily for him after a few years people didn't bug him for saving the world too often and nobody bothered him today either.

As he walked he felt a rush of air behind him and the presence of someone directly behind him. He spun on his heel and prepared to be attacked but it was just Sonic messing with him "Peek-a-boo"

He rolled his eyes "Faker" his simple greeting sounded very much like he wanted the hedgehog gone.

He waved and acted like Shadow had greeted him nicer "How ya been buddy?"

He hated it when he called him 'buddy' they weren't friends. Atleast not enough to call him buddy. In his eyes they were more like "People who saw eachother often because their friends were the same'

"Hey you in there" he said waving a hand in his face to catch his attention.

Shadow just growled "What do you want?"

Sonic asked awkwardly thinking his intentions were obvious "To talk?"

"Well we are talking, hear the words being sent to one another, now here our 'talk' end" turning wanting to avoid the blue blur, but realized he was too persistent for that.

"Hey, wait up! I'm bored and I think we need to hang out a little" he jogged to catch him.

"How do we 'need' to do anything?" he groaned.

Sonic slouched "Come on, please. I'm so bored cause Tails is hanging out with Cream and all our other friends are busy today"

Shadows fist clenched hard, he felt like his claws would cut his palms but said "Well then go for a run" knowing he enjoyed going fast.

Sonic just whined "But I did that already… several times" now purposely dragging his feet to annoy his dark counterpart.

Shadow wanted to hit him so hard right now but knew he'd never leave and growled "FINE, what do you want to do?"

"Well we could atleast walk and talk?" he shrugged.

"And what would we talk about?"

"Ummm… how's life" Sonic started off with.

Shadow knew he'd never get rid of the blue nuisance so accepted his fate "Fine, Vanilla ia is nice to me and doesn't push me around the house like a slave. Still waiting on Rouge to finally call me"

Sonic nodded "Sounds like Rouge is slacking lately. How long has it been since your latest job anyway?"

Shadow thought back and said "Hmmm, almost nine months"

Sonic nervously asked his next question "Mind if I ask what it was?"

Shadow rolled his eyes "Yes I do mind. If I tell you then that means you will be aiding a fugitive. The less you know the better" He had told Amy about stuff but that was because he actually liked her.

Sonic chuckled nervously believing him "Good point… sooooo Tails was gone most of yesterday. He was at your place right? What's going on with him?" he wasn't clueless, He knew of Tails and Cream, it's just the fox didn't tell him details.

"If he's not telling your details then I's not my job to tell you anything either" Shadow smirked feeling the frustration on the blue blurs face.

"Come on! He was so excited to ask her out and asked me for advice several times and now suddenly he's got locked lips" he whined.

Shadow debated whether he should burst his bubble and tell him that Tails got all his advice from him now. Knowing Sonic he might get a little jealous in that subject on that. Nothing that wouldn't be more then just feeling a bit overlooked. He decided not to because Tails deserved some privacy and he didn't want to put up with a jealous Sonic.

Shadow simply shrugged letting the hedgehog stay in confusion.

He eventually broke from his frustration and asked pryingly "So how are you and Ames?" he still couldn't believe that they were together, still unknown to him that it wasn't real.

Shadow simply said "Fine"

"Oh the hesitance means something, I bet you got down with her. You are such a ladies man when you want to be I bet" he teased.

The dark hedgehog growled "Shut up Faker"

"Hey wow I wasn't the one who decided to get with Amy. I have to thank you man, I was worried that she wasn't actually over me yet" he said relief obviously in his body.

Shadow wanted to hit him so bad for that. Feelings of anger and resentment came back to him. He took the situation and asked something he'd always wanted to ask "That reminds me, how could you do all that stuff to her?"

Sonic looked to him surprised "What?" the question catching him off guard.

"You know what I mean. How could lead her on so long!?"

Sonic threw his hands up defensively "Hey I never led her on!"

"Yes you did. Every time she asked to go out with you, hell sometimes just to hang out, you would make up excuses. Like you had prior arrangements, or you would do it later. Or just simply ran away. All those actions left her with hope. She adored you so much she had a scrap of hope you were telling the truth!" Shadow said seething with rage.

"Hey I thought she'd get the hint"

"Shut up, it's a good idea the first few times but when she didn't understand that you never changed. She cried a lot when you rejected her.."

Sonic interrupted "You don't think I don't know that. What I supposed to do, go back and show I care and raise her hopes again?"

Fire was clearly seen in the dark hedgehogs eyes "You asshole! Not only did you lead her on but just left her by herself to cry everytime! On purpose"

Sonic took a step back fearful of what he'd do now as he made a scene in the middle of the sidewalk.

Shadow continued "I'm so glad you finally told her straight about how it wasn't gonna happen, it only took you… what is it, like seven years to finally do it. That's 365 days times 7 days that you led the poor girl on. I may not have been around in the beginning but when I saw her cry I felt sorry for her. And I wondered how anyone could be so cruel to one of their best friends. Not to mention one who adored you beyond measure"

"You know how scary it is to face her and that hammer? If I ever tried to turn her down she'd beat me" Sonic stuttered but his words really hot home.

Around them several people were filming the scene with their phones but both hedgehog s were too busy to notice.

"I've never met anyone as terrible as you. I remember nights you stood her up, that's the worst, you stood her up. It's one thing to subtly try and back away from her and act like you have no time but actually agreeing to a date not showing up. You left her out in the rain by herself for hours hopefully waiting for you. Finally after four hours of waiting she gave up, broke down and cried. Then she had a cold for a week. You know who was there!? Me I watched from a rooftop. I was making sure she was safe and eventually I was the one who walked her home. While you were off god knows where I took her home and made sure she was safe" he ranted telling his story.

Sonic stared at his dark counterpart unable to say anything. He never realized Amy had waited so long that night. He suspected she just headed home as soon as the rain came. Needless to say he felt like the biggest jerk in the world now. He looked away in shame.

"SAY SOMETHING!" Shadow yelled, he didn't think anything he'd say would ease his anger infact he was half sure that as soon as he said anything he was kick his ass.

When Sonic still refused to speak Shadow said "Oh where are you smartass remarks now? Finally realized how much of an ass you are!?"

"YES, of course I feel terrible…. How could I do that to her… I just… I just thought she'd go home"

"That doesn't excuse anything asshole. You still said you would be there and didn't come. You led her on, getting her hopes up. You know what she said to me once we got her back home. She sincerely believed you were off doing something important like fighting Eggman and that's why you missed it. That is how much she adored you. Years of neglect and being stood up and she still believed you to be a good guy!"

The word 'neglect' hit him like a freight trains. He had neglected her. The word made him want to throw up. He'd never realized how much he took Amy for granted, how could he treat her that way. One of his oldest and dearest friends?

"I-I-I… there's nothing I can say to make any of that right…. Even if I changed my mind I don't deserve her, she had all the patience in the world and I just led her on. I should have given her a chance or told her straight up. Or tried whenever I could despite the beating I'd receive" no one not even Tails had explained it to him like this.

Sonic took a step forward wanting to hug him for being the most honest friend he'd had but the dark hedgehog pushed him away "Get the hell away" he spat in front of him and walked off feeling if he stayed longer he'd attack Sonic.

Behind him the blue hedgehog rubbed his chest from the push and slowly looked around seeing the crowd. All the phones followed Shadow until he teleported away in a blue flash. With him gone all cameras pointed to him making him nervous and shrink into himself.

Without a word he ran away to the other side of the city in seconds into an alleyway. Shadows words flowed through his mind like a raging river, every word smashing against his skull. He felt like such an asshole and surprisingly didn't hate Shadow. He, in fact, appreciated what he said cause he finally knew the truth. He had truly thought Amy was just a fan girl but she was so devoted to stand in the rain for hours. He could imagine her in the rain, in her nice dress that she had surely worn that night. It ruined by the rain.

She never told him that. Usually she would find him and yell at him for messing with her but she had never come and told him that one. That scared him far more then anything else. How could it become so normal for him to mess with her that she didn't even tell him?

His head dropped down, he couldn't even bring himself to cry because then he'd be pitying himself. There was nothing to pity from him. He never had the guts to tell her just stop chasing him around and lay down the law so he hurt her so much.

He had only himself to blame and his fist shook in anger, he wished he could leave his own body and beat the crap out of himself. It was what he deserved for…. Neglecting, her for so long.

He resorted to smashing his fist against the wall he was leaning again, feeling intense pain after the third smash.

"How can I even apologize for all that. How do I walk to her and say "I'm sorry seven years of tears, pain and sorrow?" he asked himself. There were no words to say sorry to something like that. He knew she'd forgive him anyway, he didn't deserve forgiveness. She should beat him down if she knew what was fair.

He was stuck unable to apologize but feeling he had to. He finally cried unable to hold it back any longer. He knew this was probably not even close to how bad Amy had felt but he deserved to feel like shit for what he did.

He just cried in that alleyway himself alone and afraid, he finally felt just a fraction of what Amy had felt. Cause now he had nobody to comfort him, alone and afraid.

His thoughts went back to Shadow for a moment. He was a better man then him. Sure he was a dick most of the time but he was actually there for Amy. When the rain came down and he was nowhere in sight he was the one who walked her home. Perhaps he didn't do it for love back then but he didn't for a reason. Perhaps a random act of kindness or expecting Sonic would do exactly what he did. What it boiled down to was Shadow waited alongside Amy for four hours making sure he'd be safe when he was nowhere in sight.

"ot only was Shadow a better friend to her than he'd ever been but from what he could tell she was happier with him too. She barely spoke to him anymore. Perhaps she hated him and only saw him when she had to now. That hurt his chest even more.

"You fucking idiot. How could you do that to one of your most loyal friends?" he hiccupped through the sentence.

His mind swirled with thoughts but one always stayed. He was an asshole and didn't deserve her in his life anyway.

Elsewhere…

Shadow stood on the top of a tall skyscraper. His rage had barely subsided in the last few minutes.

"It's about time someone told him the truth" he said arms crossed looking over the busy city.

He had been holding that in for years. Course it wasn't as intense back then as it was now. He always had disrespect for him for how he treated the girl who loved and adored him, but now with his new feelings for her his anger boiled hotter then the sun.

His mind swirled with all the ways he wanted to kick his ass but knew he couldn't.

He worked on breathing techniques he'd been working on. It felt good to finally let the blue blur know all that. It was a night he and Amy had promised to not talk about.

Flashback…

Shadow sat on the edge of the a roof overlooking the park. Waiting out there on a bench was Amy. She looked happy and had dressed up in a nicer dress. It wasn't anything exotic or fancy just better then he everyday dress.

He had no idea why he was here waiting alongside her for Sonic, but he just knew that he had to be here. He heard that Amy got a date with Sonic and had a bad feeling in the back of his mind.

He looked to the girl again, she had a picnic basket. A harmless picnic, nothing wrong with that.

He thought it was a reasonable idea until he looked up and saw the clouds in the sky getting thicker and darker.

He was worried she might have to cancel the date due to bad weather which made him feel like his time was being wasted.

Sadly he waited for another half an hour and the blue hedgehog was nowhere to be seen.

Shadow scratched his chin wondering where he could be. How could a guy who could run the speed of sound be late? It started to raise doubt in his mind. In opposite contrast Amy from what he could tell at this distance still enthusiastically waited. Poor dumb girl, too love struck to realize what was more than likely happening.

It wasn't the present so he considered her very dumb and annoying. Did that mean he liked seeing woman disrespected? Not at all.

Another half an hour passed and still no hedgehog. He knew he'd stood her up. What an asshole, sometimes he wondered how such a 'good guy' could be so mean.

From what he could see Amy looked to her watch, the first sign of doubt he'd seen from her since he arrived. She was incredibly blind to what was happening and it somewhat sickened him at how naïve she was.

He expected her to give up and go home any minute now, good, he could go home too.

Then he felt a drop of rain on his nose. He looked up finding the clouds now completely blocking the sun. This only solidified his confidence she'd go home.

The rain picked up in the next fifteen minutes yet she still hadn't move. Atleast from the park. She took a seat on a bench under a tree for cover.

Shadow sighed feeling all the rain coming down now, much longer out here and it would ruin his quills.

"Come on stupid girl, just go home!" he yelled, but he was too far away for her to hear, the rain only adding to the deafening sound.

He could see her curled up a bit, all alone in the park now. Her bright pink and red stood out among the green grass.

Longer and longer both hedgehogs waited. Both drenched by the rain. Shadows quills were now lagging down along his back and his fur totally water logged. Amy wasn't much better, even with the trees cover she was soaked and shivering.

He growled in frustration at how stupid she was. He wasn't coming, just leave!

Hours assed making it nearly four hours now.

Shadow was still there which surprised himself more than the fact she was still there. He didn't worry about getting a cold, his immunity to all illnesses saw to that but he could see Amy sneezing and shivering. Her dress totally ruined now.

He wasn't even angry anymore. He felt pity for her. She was so devoted to Sonic she would stand out in the rain for him when it was obvious he wouldn't show. All his anger and frustration was aimed at the blue hedgehog now. There was no end to how much he abused her loyalty.

He just couldn't take it anymore and teleported behind her.

Now that he was next to her he could see she had curled up and was crying. He frowned, poor girl.

He didn't want her out here any longer then they had to and he touched her shoulder with surprisingly gentle hands.

He saw her flinch. Even without seeing her face he could tell what she was about to happen.

"I knew you'd co-" she turned on her seat excitedly but then saw it was the dark hedgehog. Her expression quickly turned to a frown turning back around. The short moment he saw of her face burned into his mind. Her mascara was drizzling down her face. Not to mentioned so many tears, even with the rain he could distinguish the difference.

"Amy" he said softly "You need to go home before you get sick"

"NO!" she huffed "He'll be here, he said he would" then sneezed not helping her case.

The dark hedgehog growled in frustration but said again trying to keep his cool "It's raining out and you've been waiting for him for several hours. He's not coming!"

She gasped at his words "Of course he'd come, he keeps his word"

He scoffed rolling his eyes "Obviously not. If he did he'd have been here hours ago"

She looked down still facing away, her sniffles clearly being heard. With heavy reluctance she stood up and started to head for home totally broken and felt like getting his by a car.

Shadow watched her and sighed knowing he'd have to stay with her.

He followed her catching up. He heard her sneeze against as she did and rolled his eyes.

He took off his jacket "Listen, just take this" putting it around her frame.

She didn't even respond. The entire walk was like that. No words were exchanged. He was pretty sure she was in her own world of despair.

Apon reaching her home he quickly took the jacket back.

He could vaguely hear Amy whispered meekly "Thank you"

"Don't mention it" he said quite seriously before teleporting away. And to this day nobody knew that story.

Present…

He guessed she hadn't told anyone because it humiliating. Not that he didn't appreciate it but now Sonic knew, and he felt it finally drove home how bad he was to her.

He gritted his teeth at the thought of the blue blur. What else could he say, he was a massive asshole that never deserved her in the first place.

He remembered that Amy bugged him a lot back then too, mostly to hang out. But he never lied to her.

"No" would be all he'd ever say in response. Short, to the point and truthful.

His anger was slowly subsiding. His one relief was knowing Sonic was beating himself up right now.

He flashed away in a light of blue reappearing on the sidewalk and walked down the street. He ignored all the surprised looks of people who saw hedgehog just appear from nowhere.

He thought about Amy, how happy she was now. Ever since their talk in the forest she had been much more consistently happy. It made him feel good to see that. If she deserved anything after 7 years of pain and sorrow it was near never ending happiness.

The whole story made him want to find her and hug her and tell her everything was ok now. Tell her was here for her and he'd never neglect her like Sonic had. Nothing in the world would make him happier to have a chance like Sonic had and show her who truly cared about her.

All the anger escaped his body thinking of holding her soft, small frame.

He sighed contently with a dreaming smile.

His mind was interrupted hearing two familiar voices approaching. He opened his eyes and saw purple and white.

"ooff" all three grunted. The silver figure falling over unlike his companion.

"Hey watch where you are going" female said "Hey wait… hey Shadow" her tone quickly reversed to a kinder tone.

Shadow looked and saw his suspicions were right, it was Blaze.

"Oh hey Blaze, sorry about that. Was in deep thought"

He could hear her companion getting from his fall which he learned was Silver but then looked to Blaze who replied "Nah it's right, no harm done"

Silver groaned rubbing his knee "Ya… no harm" obviously having scraped his knee.

"So what'cha up to?" the cat asked the dark hedgehog ignoring her boyfriends comment.

"Nothing. Just walking through the city enjoying the day" he explained casually crossing his arms.

Blaze nodded, her elegant background making her polite and make subtle movements most wouldn't notice.

"Silver and I were just one a walk" she said simply taking the silver hedgehogs hand which made him smile.

Shadow nodded, how long had they been together now? Wasn't it like a year and a half now?

He didn't bother to ask "Were you gonna do anything else besides walk?" not wanting to join, just seemed kinda boring for the couple to do all day long.

Silver shrugged "Might stop for lunch a bit later. Then see where our feet take us"

Shadow nodded and started walking beside the couple hands in his jacket pockets.

He wasn't sure what to ask but Silver blurted out "So… how's you and Pinkie?"

Shadow actually chuckled at the name "We're fine, she's off shopping somewhere. She forced me to come along yesterday. Ya I'm gonna make sure I disappear everytime she wants to do that now"

Silver laughed "Man I'm glad Blaze isn't a shopping kind of girl. I don't do good in woman's sections of stores" remembering back to when he embarrassed himself in a woman's store.

Blaze suddenly said "Oh we need to go shopping now" joking around but he jerked and said "No, please no!"

Blaze laughed at him "Anyways, I gotta say I'm still surprised you two are together. It just seems so odd. She's sound…. Well… she's Amy and you are… you" finding it easier to just describe them that way. Silver nodding in agreement.

Shadow pulled out the last excuse he used "Hmmm, maybe opposites attract"

Silver smartly replied "Relationships aren't like magnets, there's got to be more to it"

Shadow felt like he was being interrogated "Why do you care so much?"

Blaze smirked as Silver looked away nervously.

Shadow was caught off guard by the sudden nervousness "What?"

Blaze laughed "Come on just tell him, it's better to say now"

Silver groaned "But he'll kill me" not very secretively to the cat.

Shadows eyes narrowed on the silver hedgehog, he averted his eyes scratching the back of his head "Spit it out" he growled.

Silver finally sighed "Ok… for awhile I…. like Amy" his hands fiddled through the conversation but as soon as he finished he flinched in fear expecting a fist.

"Wait what?" Shadow asked confused.

Blaze looked to the dark hedgehog "Exactly what he said. Before we got together he liked Amy. But she turned him down, politely of course. So he moved on and we got together. I'm not worried though. I'm confident fire to the face is a good deterrent from impure thoughts" a smirk heavy on her face.

Shadow found that incredibly amusing "You got him on the proverbial flaming whip eh?" She nodded as Silver groaned.

"I mean I'm not controlling right?" she looked to her boyfriend who quite quickly and instinctively shook his hands "No of course not!"

Shadow chuckled but looked to the silver hedgehog "Well, I trust you. So you can stop cowering like a child"

He sighed "You won't regret it man. I'd never betray Blaze… my conscience wouldn't be able to handle it, plus I'd risk third degree burns from her"

Blaze grabbed his hand "That's sweet of you to say, not true but sweet"

Both hedgehogs looked to her oddly.

"What? He's wrong, he'd get fourth degree burns" she joked but Silver took it all too seriously and gulped.

Despite their bickering and threatening of eachother Shadow knew they were good for one another. They worked off one another well. In an everyday sense she gave him confidence. He could work on his own and was much more confident these days but unlike others he had visual doubts in himself.

Blaze got a fun partner that helped her escape her usually totally serious and polite attitude. Like Silver she had gotten better and was able to joke around more but generally was the most serious of all their friends only be trumped by Shadow himself.

Perhaps that why he liked Blaze and got along with her more. She understood how to be serious in a situation. Putting the jokes and talk aside and knew what needed to be done to get the job done.

As for Silver he found him easy to get along with because when on a mission he had a strange single minded approach. Everything else not pertaining to his mission came second. With that said sometimes he got too single minded and didn't slow down to think. It reminded him a bit of Sonic. Guess that's why he and Blaze worked well to together, the man of action and the woman of logic. Together they were a dangerous match. Shadow even had to admit they'd be a hard pair to fight even if he and Sonic teamed up.

He got back to his conversation with them. Apparently in his thought Blaze and Silver got talking again. Apparently trying to decide what to do.

Shadow jumped in knowing the pair would never think of something themselves. "Silver, think about she likes?"

"Uhhh… well she royalty… so… a nice dinner?"

Blaze shook her head "Nope, I may be royalty but I kinda hated it"

Silver nodded forgetting that "Ok how about…. " his eyes brightened smirking "I got it! See ya around Shadow"

He watched as his hands glowed green and an aura appeared around Blaze both floating "What are you doing!?"

Silver smiled "Ever wanted to fly?"

Before she could answer he flew off with her right next to him slowly floating into the sky. Then once above the buildings he increased speed and flew off into the distance with her.

Shadow just watched and had a slight feeling of jealousy "Wish I could fly on demand"

He quickly turned and wondered if he'd meet anyone else. He already had the unfortunate luck of meeting with Sonic who he had no idea where he'd ran off to a now Silver and Blaze.

But the after another half an hour of walking and ending up in his old neighborhood he felt his pocket buzz.

Reaching into his pocket he bet it was either Tails or Amy. He turned it on and saw it was from Rouge.

Meet me at the park-Rouge

Shadow nodded not responding and running off to the park. He suspected she finally found them a job. He wanted to feel relieved but actually worried that he'd have to move out. That didn't stop him, for now he still needed to answer Rouges text and arrive at the park.

Once there he waited under a tree. What could she possibly have for them to do? If it had taken her this long to find a new job then it either meant she finally found something big or was desperate and took found for less high end work survive a bit longer. He sort of hoped for the latter, it would give him a reason not to move out of Vanillas house yet.

Within another minute or two he saw Rouge fly down near him with her signature seductive smile. He had become immune to it over the years. Needless to say she had nearly gotten him lost in all that beauty. His young mind trying to adjust to the feelings of lust and other sexual emotions. Luckily Rouge was a little more responsible then she appeared. She refused to do anything with him unless he knew the consequences and that it was more important to her than she led on.

That was when he suspected that the bat liked him. She oddly flirted with him more and generally liked being closer to him than anyone else, in body and socially.

Although it stopped after awhile and went back to normal with the occasional non-professional talk hear and there. Still flirty but that was just how she was. He suspected that saw she was making no headway with her advances and gave up.

As she approached the usual sway in her steps he nodded to her as his greeting.

"Hey there Gloomy, how are things?" the bat asked stopping a few feet away from him.

Before you text me or after?" he asked.

"Let's go with before" she smiled.

He thought about if he should tell her everything she was his closest and oldest friend. Didn't mean much considering they barely spoke outside work.

"I was out for a walk when you called. Met up with Sonic, then Silver and Blaze afterwards"

Rouge smiled glad to see he was getting a little more social able "Oh ya and what were they up to?" Her desire for information showing slightly.

"Sonic wanted somebody to talk to, Blaze and Silver were out for a walk trying to decide what to do" his answer brief and floated over how he verbally assaulted Sonic.

The bat then smirked "And what of Amy, I would think you'd be on her heels all the time?"

Shadow rolled his eyes at her comment. "I'd love to but she's out shopping and I'm not doing that again" his head shaking.

Rouge fake pouted "Awww, damn, I was gonna ask the same thing"

He just sighed "What did you really want Rouge?"

She crossed her arms at his somewhat rude comment "I was trying to talk a bit, we rarely do"

He didn't apologize at first and just stared at her getting increasingly annoyed by her. For some odd reason it made him angry… no confused when she decided to try and talk. It just wasn't how they worked normally. He hated being confused which is probably why his anger went up.

He sighed "Sorry… just got things on my mind lately" he decided apologizing was worth it, he really didn't want to get into another fight with someone he actually considered a friend.

His apology surprised the bat, but made her smile. She knew despite his apology he would like to get down to business so she said "Well I finally got us a job. It required me to talk to some old friends and pull some favors but I got us two tickets to an upcoming ball at a rich guys party"

Shadow raised an eyebrow. It surprised him she pulled that many favors all at once. She had to be really desperate.

He guessed that they were gonna steal something from this rich "So let me guess. We go to the ball, and I stay with the party while you go and steal whatever it is we need?"

Rouge smirked "Actually I'm not coming with you. I got details on the security and there's no way for me to come in ground floor without being seen. Whether it be cameras or bodyguards. So I'm gonna fly on the roof and break in through a skylight"

Shadow raised his brow again "Ok? So why do we have 'tickets" then putting special emphasis on the plural.

"Because you are gonna go with a date. Everyone will have a date at this thing and coming alone could raise the slightest amount of suspicion, which we don't need. Besides you stand out because you are well… you. A good looking girl will help keep anyone's minds off that" the bat explained.

Shadow crossed his arms "So you are hiring a third wheel?" he didn't like that, a third person would only add variables he wasn't comfortable with.

"No, you are bringing the third wheel. I thought that maybe with you and Amy together you could use a good date night" She smirked smartly.

Shadow saw it now, why she pulled so many favors. Why she was trying so hard get those tickets. He really wished he hadn't made that stupid plan now.

He growled in anger, which made the bats smirk larger. Since when did she play matchmaker?

"Oh but I suggest you tell her what we're doing incase something bad happens and we need to fight our way out. Though I doubt that will ne the case" she said seriously.

The hedgehog just paused in thought before asking "What's in there?"

Rouge guessed he meant what was the prize "Well first is seeing how awkward you are in a party with your girlfriend. The actually endgame is a safe. I will need some time to open it but once inside there will be tons of money. I hear rumors of even more being in there too but I'll have to get inside to learn of that"

Shadow liked the sound of that "Good, I'm in. I'll have to ask Rose though"

Rouge smiled glad he was into the plan "I'm sure you can convince her" her grin saying more than she led on.

He tried to ignore it and asked "I'll let you know once I've gotten an answer, but what if she says no?"

Rouge shrugged "Then we'll have to find some of my other old cohorts and them your date. It won't be as fun and we'll probably have to give a bigger share to them but it will still work"

"Wait you want to give Amy a share?" it wasn't that he didn't want to give her anything. If she helped she deserved the money but unlike Rouge and himself she didn't know how to cover up the money trail. He could always help her out though.

"Of course, that's the other reason I wanted her to know what she's doing. So when you suddenly give her a pile of cash she won't be confused. I was thinking you and I get forty percent and she gets the last twenty?"

Fair enough. Rouge made the plan Shadow would be the muscle if they got caught, Amy would just have to be there and look pretty. Which she did all the time.

"Alright, how we getting the money out?" it would be a long process if she was doing standard bag work.

She smirked "I went to your little friend Tails… well more like broke in when he wasn't around. I 'borrowed' something called the Mass conversion vacuum. I tested it out and from what I can tell it sucks up things then shrinks them down inside the compartment. Meaning I could suck up millions of bills and still have room. Then you put it into reverse it spits them out and vwala! It's normal size again. It looks like a leaf blower in design" she explained the machine using simple words.

Shadow surprisingly had a problem with this, she stole from Tails? He just hoped the boy wouldn't notice until their job was done and it was back. It brought up the question, why did Tails even make that thing. He obviously had way too much time on his hands.

He had all the information he needed and nodded "Fine. I'll text you later tonight when I got her answer"

With that the hedgehog and bat went their separate ways. She took off to the sky while he ran home. He secretly hoped she wouldn't agree. He had no idea if she would be ale to keep her cool or be morally able to go along with it anyway. He should have asked Rouge if the guy was a scumbag somehow.

When he got home he just waited for people to come home. First it was Cream who went upstairs to draw. Amy next so he walked to her to ask his question.

"Hey Amy, can we speak in private?"

She looked around "Well… we are alone"

He couldn't help but chuckle at the. He also noticed some look in her eyes but said "Listen… I need your help" scratching his head.

The look in her eyes went away and the look of disappointment replaced it "Oh, what is it?"

He looked at her and said "Rouge called me and we have a job…. But… we need a third person"

"Ya?" she asked slowly not sure what he was asking yet.

He sighed and decided to just tell her ""Ok, so we are going to a ball a rich guy is holding. During the party Rouge will steal stuff from a safe upstairs. I need you to be my… date and keep an eye on the people so nobody catches her off guard… we'll pay you a share of course" he tried to make it sound easy for her.

"You want me to help you steal from someone?" she asked obviously surprised.

Shadow tried to cover his ass "It was Rouges idea not mine"

"And you would need me to be your date?" she asked catching him off guard. He expected her to just flat our refuse but she was considering it.

"You are actually considering it?"

"You're my friend and I want to help. Besides I haven't done anything exciting in a long time. Plus a nice night out would be really fun" her enthusiastic smile on her face.

He couldn't believe what he was hearing, he wasn't sure if he liked it or not. First was now she'd be an accomplice to his and Rouges exploits but on the other hand… damn… seeing her act bad like this only made him more attracted to her.

"Well… you'd need a nice dress" he'd a need a tux too but he could easily rent one out.

"Luckily I got one today. Call it an impulse buy but now it's gonna come in useful" she smiled glad she'd be able to wear it after all.

Shadow paused again blinking once or twice and asked "You're sure you want to do this?"

She giggled at his concern "Oh Shadow, I know you and Rouge do things properly. All I need to do is simply be there. It can't be that hard"

Shadow just crossed his arms "You need to keep your cool and not act like you are undercover. That is hard, to act natural" he said bluntly.

"Ya but isn't my natural loud and attracts attention? Wouldn't that be a good thing? While everyone is either talking to me or watching me less people will be thinking about upstairs"

She was surprisingly right "You haven't done this before have you?"

Amy giggled "Nope, just saying what I think makes sense"

He just shook his head smiling at her. She was so adorable.

Then she asked "When we doing this?"

He guessed she was in and said "I'll text Rouge and she'll let me know"

Amy nodded and then asked "What's my share? You mentioned I'd get one earlier but what is it?"

"Rouge and I thought you'd get twenty percent of whatever we end up with, deal?" Shadow explained typing on his phone.

The pink hedgehog thought "Hmmm. I am new and basically there to fill in a spot so I guess it sounds fair" shrugging as she finished.

He wanted to so badly tell her that their conversation had been surprisingly sexy but went with "Good, I doubt Rouge would have changed those terms" he was still waiting for her reply which came a few seconds later.

I'm glad she agreed. It's going down in three days. I'll send you the specifics in a bit-Rouge

He turned to Amy who seemed too excited for her own good making him chuckle "So it's in three days. Try to calm down before then, ok?"

She nodded "Good, I don't have work that night. It's gonna be amazing, you'll see. I'll be the best fake date you've ever had"

All he could think of was how she'd be an amazing real date if he ever got the courage to ask and nodded with a chuckle.

They didn't speak of the coming heist for the rest of the night but he could tell she was thinking about it constantly. She hardly sat still and her eyes clearly showed she was daydreaming. She was almost like a kid. He hoped she'd calmed down before they went or they might have a problem.

The rest of the night went normal like always eventually ending with everyone going to sleep. Right before bed Rouge sent him the more specific information like the address, exact time, the name of the host. His and Amy's back-stories incase anyone asked an finally some instructions of how they'd handle the plan going bad.

After read it all he went to bed excited and scared for the event. Excited because he'd be with Amy at a party having fun. But afraid that she might get caught up with them and get caught if something went bad. She could handle herself but the pressure might get to her or she might be tracked down after the job.

Despite all this there was another storm brewing on something else he did today…

 **So left it off with a cliffhanger. If you are paying attention I'm sure you can guess what the coming problem is. As for bad Amy, that's gonna be fun to write.**

 **This chapter I wanted to move away from the Shadamy a bit. I mean I recently said something to somebody about focusing on the two main characters and thought I should get them away from eachother a chapter. So I got one other thing I wanted to get done, Sonic and Shadows fight. Well more like a hard lesson for Sonic. As for Silver and Blaze I like them and I wanted to get Shadow with them for a minute and describe his feelings on them. Hope all the non shadamy stuff was ok.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	11. Apologies, malls and Games

**A/N Hey 11** **th** **chapter now. Fun stuff this is. Amy is coming with Shadow to steal stuff, and Sonic basically got called the biggest asshole in the world.**

 **I have to admit that's my personal opinion of Sonic. It annoys the shit out of me that he can't just tell Amy straight up it's not happening. He either just runs away or makes excuses. One of those situations where words speak louder then actions. Get my meaning? I hope that doesn't make people hate me. I'm not saying Sonic is a bad guy, far from it. It's just a character trait or two annoys me and makes me not like him.**

 **Oh I should clarify ages Shadow is 21, Sonic,Amy, knuckles, and Blaze are 20, Silver is 19, Cream and Tails are 15. Rouge is 23…and anyone I'm missing that will also need clarifying oh! Vanilla is like 36-37ish, Vector is 34. Charmy is like 10 or 11. Espio is 29 I guess. Oh and Manic is 19 and Sonia 21. Sound good?... good.**

Like every morning Shadow awoke from his couch hearing someone else was awake before him.

Looking up he hoped he could get a glance of who it was without having to get up. It was Cream the rabbit. Looked like she was making an early breakfast.

He groaned catching her attention "Oh I'm Sorry Mr. Shadow I didn't mean to wake you"

Shadow just groaned again trying to ignore her but the clanking plates made it hard "What'cha making?" he asked finally. He was quiet but her large ears easily picked it up.

"Eggs" she replied also softly.

"Oh he could got for some eggs right now "Make enough for two?"

"Yes, did you want anything else?" she asked politely.

His mouth watered, he vaguely remembered ham steaks being in the groceries and said "Get one of those ham steaks for me too"

He almost got comfortable but felt a bit rude to make Cream make his breakfast and eventually got off the couch. He didn't bother to get dressed quite yet so walked into the kitchen with just his pajama bottoms and shoes.

"Here I'll do my own, you worry about yourself" he was gradually getting more and more kind to the woman in the house. If it kept up like this he'd eventually be their slaves.

Cream smiled at his offer and proceeded to only make food for herself knowing he wouldn't take no for an answer. While she did that Shadow put the frozen ham steak into hot water in the sink.

He waited for her to finish her eggs reading the paper he got outside. Once she was finished he started making his own breakfast placing the ham steak on a frying pan and started to cook it.

The sizzling made it hard for him to hear anyone else coming downstairs. Which Amy did as he cooked.

For a few seconds Amy was staring at him from behind. She leaned against the wall admiring the view of the shirtless Shadow.

Although the moment was ruined when Cream said "Morning Amy"

Shadow turned and smiled "Morning Rose, you want something?" he offered.

He saw her visually shake her head, not as a no but as away to clear her head. To what he couldn't tell but she said "Uhhh, ya. What ya making?"

"Eggs and ham" he replied.

"Hope they aren't green" Amy chuckled.

"Uhhh… no… why?" the dark hedgehog asked confused. He had honestly never heard of Green eggs and ham once in his life so the joke was foreign to him.

Both girl looked at him oddly "Ummm… the book?"

"There's a book about green eggs and ham?" he asked confirming his cluelessness to the girls.

He looked between them "…what?"

"Forget about it" Amy waved him off.

Shadow was utterly confused but let it go like she asked.

Amy waited as Shadow cooked the two girls talking.

"Mostly about what Cream did with Tails yesterday. The little information she was able to get only raised suspicion.

Luckily for the rabbit Shadow was the to the rescue and served food to Amy and sat down with his own plate too.

Amy asked Shadow "So what are you gonna do today?"

The male trying to be secretive said "I need to do a few things for something coming up" he knew she knew what he meant so she nodded. No need getting poor Cream in on this. Even just knowing their plans she could be arrested for not reporting them in.

He found it kinda exciting to hide it from the girl, Vanilla and anyone else not apart of the their trio.

Amy nodded to his answer guessing he was getting atleast a suit ready for the night.

"And you?" Shadow asked his future date.

"Might go and find Sonic and see if he's free to do stuff" just wanting to someone to hang out with.

Shadow went wide eyed for half a second. He wanted really badly to tell her not to do that. For all he knew Sonic could be unstable or run away from her again. He inwardly groaned at how this might end up.

"You sure? I spoke to him yesterday and he seemed distant" he lied hoping that would be enough reason for her to leave him alone.

Unfortunately it wasn't "It's a new day I'm sure he'll be fine now" her unending enthusiasm not stopping her.

The dark hedgehog just sighed looking away "Just don't be surprised if he is distant or avoids you"

"O-k?" she awkwardly said continuing to eat.

Shadow hoped whatever happened wasn't too bad and upset Amy.

The morning routine was the same. Cream went to school Vanilla talked to both Amy and Shadow before taking her leave to have fun. Amy left to go find Sonic and Shadow started walking to a store he could rent out a tux.

He realized he should go call Rouge and ask just how nice the tux had to be.

He called her and listened as the ring tones came. After the fifth ring she finally answered "What do you want Shadow I'm busy"

He rolled his eyes "What could you be busy with in the morning?"

"Don't worry about it. What do you want?" She seemed angry and debating asking her what was up. For now he was gonna ask his question and hope she'd calm a bit by the time he was done.

"I'm about to choose a tuxedo to rent out, I need to know exactly how good it needs to look.

She simply answered "The fancier the better. Make sure your girlfriends wearing something good too"

"Ya I I'll ask her about it later tonight…. You ok?" trying not to sound concerned.

'Yes I'm fine. I'm glad somebody cares enough to ask" her voice angry, not at him. Someone else.

"Why, did you get hurt?"

"Not hurt just ran into somebody but he apologized, and that's it…" she mumbled something else about 'the jerk and all the others'

"Oh well…. Sorry… I guess" he didn't know what to say.

He heard her angrily sigh "It's alright… maybe I'll go bug knuckles, atleast he doesn't stare at my chest"

"Ya but he doesn't like you" Shadow added half a mile from the store.

He heard Rouge chuckle "You actually believe that?" but before he could answer back she hung up on him.

Shadow sighed putting his phone away and after another minute or two entered the store and started looking around.

Most of the suits were nice he was looking for something better and eventually found one of the priciest tuxes. It was the standard black and white. Black tie and decent pants to match. Unlike the others it was just kept a little better then others meaning he might look half decent compared to everyone. Finally it came with some lame rose like some kind of James Bond thing. He'd either give it to Amy or leave it if she didn't need it.

So using almost all of the remaining money he had he rented this tux thinking to himself "This had better work out" cause if it failed he was gonna be flat broke.

"He'd come back the morning of the heist and get it so he took his leave knowing he had nothing to do now.

He started jogging in place getting heart going and took a few breaths and blasted forward. Half a second afterwards he teleported to a rooftop and his momentum sent him to the next.

Perhaps while running he'd find something to do, if anything he just running and passing the time a bit.

Half an hour later he had ran across the city several times, going through different routes and panted having not stopped the entire time. He worked his stamina pushing himself to the limit.

He had been going so hard he had to lean over and take gasping breaths. His hands were on his knees to support him but he couldn't stand. His muscles were so close to just giving out so he sat on the edge of the building he was currently on. It wasn't tall only three stories. He watched as citizens passed in their everyday lives.

He remembered back to when the Black Arms invaded earth. It was this exact street. The exact street he met up with Sonic and they carved a path through the city. He didn't care about wanting to fight the aliens.

He had an apparent promise to keep with a reward at the end so he took it. He left Sonic behind and found the first two chaos emeralds. He didn't know what Sonic had thought about his actions, at the time he didn't care. Black Doom got angry at him and tortured him for his 'disobedience'.

"What and asshole, he told me to get the emeralds, that's what I was fucking doing and he thinks he can torture me for that?" he growled to himself. He may not have any physical scars from that but the pain had been intense hurt him to his very core.

He took a deep breath to calm down and looked around. He'd gone through so many places finding the other five chaos emeralds. Every single time he avoided choosing a side. All he ever cared about was learning of his past. It made him feel like Silver thinking about it now. Single minded in his goal not thinking about anything.

As it turned out he found them all, whether it was stealing one from Tails after he crashed or forgetting about Knuckles and taking the chaos emerald there too. He looked down, thinking about it now he felt terrible. What made him feel even worse was when he met Amy, she pleaded him to help her find Cream and Cheese, without even thinking he left her behind. Now he knew how he felt for her he felt like a massive asshole. Just left her there in that warzone by herself… and to make it worse left a little girl out there too...

It surprised him all the time that any of them even forgave him. The only reprieve he could think of was that he never necessarily helped the Black Arm.

Then he had been stopped just in time by Sonic and his friends from giving them over to Black Doom. Sure he distrusted the humans but he never wished for them to be enslaved or destroyed. One government wasn't going to make him hate the world. He may be the ultimate life form but even he didn't have the right or responsibility to decide a races fate.

After that everyone knew that story. It had become legend since then. He was a hero. It was the stuff before that nobody knew, that he honestly didn't care about the humans plight and was fighting for himself. He sometime wanted people to know that part. It felt wrong to be a hero yet have no heroic intentions. Even after he learned Black Doom tricked him did it out of revenge and because he was made to defeat him.

Once again his thoughts went to how he was living without purpose. All his life he had a purpose he had been living up to, even with his memory gone he knew he had a purpose and hunted for the truth but now, now he was running without a destination.

He growled at himself, he didn't want to think about this. He was about to get up when he heard footsteps behind him.

His head jerked around to see one of the people he had been thinking about.

"Sonic?" he asked eyebrow raised.

The blue hedgehog didn't have his usual smile or attitude, his shoulders slouched. He vaguely smelt alcohol.

The hedgehog looked pathetic, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans which his hands were in their pockets. His quills were a mess and he had bags under his eyes.

He had nothing else to ask besides "What the hell happened to you?"

Sonic didn't answer and asked "Can I sit?"

The dark hedgehog just gestured for him to come and the blue hedgehog approached his feet almost dragging.

He sat next to his rival looking down and said "What you said yesterday… I never realized…"

Shadow looked at the absolutely destroyed hedgehog and knew he had been up all night drowning in sorrow.

"… I I don't know what to do. I want to apologize to her for everything I've done but I can't see her forgiving me!" he hands held the sides of his head.

Shadow still didn't speak but knew he was completely and utterly apologetic. Perhaps he needed to hear what he said yesterday.

Sonic was about to continue when Shadow said "She was looking for you today you know. When we all separated in the morning she said she wanted to hang out with you"

"Why?" his tone asking the rest of his question, why would she want to find him if he was such a dick.

Shadow rolled his eyes "Because she's your friend. She forgives you"

"She shouldn't" he moaned tears escaping his eyes. How was he so lucky to have such a forgiving friend?

"Just shut up. She may have spent years following you around the world trying to capture your heart but she was always your friend remember? She wants to be your friend because… and I hate to admit it, you are a good guy. You look out for your friends and do your best to be nice to them" Shadow explained his tone soft towards Sonic, usually he was harsh towards him but Sonic could snap at him for being aggressive.

Sonic looked away, the stench he gave off was filled with alcohol, it actually made the other hedgehog cringe.

"Listen Faker, you made the right choice finally shutting down her fantasies of being with you. Sometimes sheading some tears is the best way to go. Many truths reveal themselves during the worst of times" he explained hoping Sonic would understand.

"Like… how you… told me yesterday?"

"Kinda, But I think you do need to apologize to her. Even if she dismisses it and acts like it's nothing you apologized and she knows it. No matter what do not lose her as a friend. She's amazing and despite your differences you work together well." His words were stronger then he wanted to, his only cover was that Sonic believed they were already dating.

Sonic smiled for the first time in over ten hours "Thank you… Shadow no matter what… you're are my friend. You don't have to think the same or agree but after this I know you got a heart"

Shadow rolled his eyes although he strangely felt kinda the same "Just don't.. 

"Mention it, I know" he completed his sentence.

He nodded then said "If you are gonna apologize clean yourself up first please"

He looked himself over and nodded "Right… ya… I'll do that"

Sonic didn't get up and asked "So… how are you and Amy anyway?"

"Fine"

"Why aren't you with her right now?"

Shadow shrugged guessing he could tell him a bit "Well first, she wanted to hang out with you today. Second I needed to make some preparations from something?"

"What you planning for, bet it's got something to do with Amy" he mischievously smirked.

Shadow rolled his eyes, he wasn't exactly wrong though "You know how Rouge and I make money?"

He nodded "It's for that. All I can tell you without possibly getting you in trouble"

"Oh… ok then" Sonic said curious but knew this was something he'd never learn.

"Can I ask you something?" Sonic asked after a short silence.

"What?"

"Could you come with me… when I apologize to Amy?" he really wanted some moral support. And considering Shadow was close to Amy he hoped his presence would help a bit.

The dark hedgehog sighed annoyed but admittedly had noting else better to do "Fine, but get yourself cleaned up remember?"

Sonic hopped up nodding "Ok, I'll meet you back here" right after that he was gone with a blue blur and Shadow just waited.

Half an hour later he felt a rush of wind behind him. Sonic sat next to him again. He looked much better now, his quills were back to their normal style. The bags under his eyes were mostly gone. His alcohol stench was gone and he was no wearing a clean black shirt and lighter blue jeans.

"Ok, I'm ready"

Shadow nodded and text Amy.

Hey where are you, I found Sonic- Shadow

Within a minute she replied

You did? I'm over at the mall. I'll be waiting at the front entrance-Amy

Shadow explained what he learned and both ran to the mall.

Like she said she was just walking outside to the front door to wait for them.

Shadow and Sonic stopped at the outer edge of the parking lot. The dark hedgehog could tell his rival was nervous "You'll be fine"

"But what if I'm not?" he asked back.

"Then run" Shadow joked but it wasn't appreciated.

"Seriously jerk"

"She'll forgive you idiot. Now go!" he said pushing him.

The blue hedgehog grunted but walked forward soon catching the eye of Amy. She waved relieved to see them cause she wouldn't be as bored now and said "Hi guys, it's about time I found you" her enthusiasm able to fill a swimming pool.

"Uhhh… hey Ames" he said nervously.

Before she could ask why he was acting strange Shadow slapped his back "Sonic here has something he's been wanting to say" he realized that could have sounded like he was about to admit his love for her but whatever.

Amy looked to Sonic patiently waiting. She wanted to think he about to admit his undying love for her but it wouldn't make sense. Perhaps her not bugging him anymore changed his mind? She noticed the bags under his eyes, he had worked to hide them when he cleaned himself up they were apparent enough for her to notice.

"Amy… I'm sorry… for all the horrible things I've done to you in the past" he refused to look at Amy and scratched his quills.

"Pardon?" she was caught of guard. Shadow just crossed his arms trying to not look like he was forcing Sonic to say all this.

"I realized yesterday that I've been a horrible friend. I took you for granted and treated you like dirt. Shadow told me of one day I stood you up in the rain. It doesn't matter that I didn't know you stood out there for hours, I should have never lied and left you out there" a tear escaping his eye.

She went wide eyed, he'd never been so genuinely sorry in his entire, or at least what she had seen. His mention of that night years ago made her look to Shadow. He was the one who said not to tell anyone and he told Sonic. What was happening?

Sonic sighed "I don't think you should forgive me for leading you on for so many years causing you to cry, all by yourself. I should have told you what I said weeks ago years ago. I'm so sorry Amy. You are one of my oldest friends, even longer then Tails. I neglected you like a jerk, I'm so sorry" he pleaded having almost got on his knees to beg. His hands clenched together in a begging gesture.

Amy stared at him for the longest time just blinking, hardly even breathing. She looked to Shadow who calmly watched seemingly having no opinion though hoped Amy would forgive.

Finally Amy took his hands and gently pulled held them and said "Look at me"

He did as instructed though expected a look of hate and anger.

To his surprise she was smiling, probably the most genuine and friendly smile he'd ever seen from her. It had no hint of love, or fangirl craziness "Sonic, I forgive you. I mean it is partially my fault anyway for not getting the message"

Sonic was happy she forgave him but she looked like she wanted to say more.

"What you did were mostly harmless, but yes there were times I was left alone and cried. That night was the worst and thank god Shadow was around to help" Shadow did a small bow with his head.

Sonic smiled ever so slightly "For that I am eternally sorry"

"You said you love me like a sister. Well now that's I've been able to live awhile not blinded by my fangirl love, as you called it once or twice, I realize what I was doing wasn't romantic love. But I do feel that I too care for you like a brother. Is that ok?" Amy offered.

Sonic smiled and said "That'd be amazing Amy, that's all I ever wanted" as he said that both hedgehogs embraced eachother in a warm sibling like hug. Both seemed happier then ever. Like this was the way it should have been all the time.

Shadow watched the two having their moment and turned to leave. After all Amy wanted to hang out with Sonic, might as well let them have their space.

"Where do you think you're going?" he heard Amy ask.

Shadow half turned "To leave you two alone?"

"No way you're here now and you two obviously are friends now after that. You must have helped him do all that" she easily thought of that which made Shadow sigh.

"I guess we… sort of did" rolling his eyes dramatically.

"Well come on, it's around lunch. Let's get some food and talk a bit at least" Amy offered. Sonic agreeing with a nod.

Shadow paused "Ya… I don't got any money now, I used it all on my purchase today" both of them knew what he meant, Amy knowing exactly what it was though.

Sonic walked forward "I'll pay for you, it's the least I can do for helping me"

Shadow just shrugged "Fine, I guess I could. He was a bit hungry anyway"

Both hedgehogs smiled and led him into the mall towards the food court.

Sonic looked much happier, the swagger in his step again. Obviously things had turned out better then he had dreamed.

All three stayed quiet on their way to the food court and decided to go to A&W. All three ordered Sonic paying for Shadows meal. The dark hedgehog purposely got something cheaper; he wasn't that much an asshole.

Once they sat down Sonic smirked and asked "So just how far has your relationship gone anyway?"

Shadow groaned while Amy blushed. Both needed to quickly make something up and not ruin their lie. Both quickly thought, they made out at the party so must be expecting something past that now.

Amy boldly started "Just some light over the covers action" purposely giving a vague-ish answer. Shadow took the answer with a nod going along with it.

"You guys seriously haven't done more, come on!" he asked having expected more. This was Shadow though so he made things complicated.

"Honest, that's all we've done. He… wants to take it slow" she tried to think of the next of her story on the fly.

Sonic looked disappointed but said "Well I guess as long as you two are happy and he's treating you right. It's your choice" he shrugged. He wanted to be respectful and alteast show his support.

Shadow then turned to Amy "But we do have a date coming up" he might as well set up their heist as an alibi.

Amy blushed at the idea it was a date and said "Yes, it's big too. Fancy stuff"

"How does a hedgehog with no money manage to have a fancy date night?" Sonic asked crossing his arms feeling cheated.

Shadow rolled his eyes "I have the money saved up right now and if I were to spend anything now I won't have enough for the date. He was lying since he used it all earlier today.

Sonic just nodded understanding now, although he continued to ask question "Where's it gonna be?"

Shadow debated whether lying or telling the truth would be good. He decided keep his name away from the location would be smarter considering he and Amy were gonna be different people that night "We're going to a fancy restaurant, and I'm not telling you cause odds are you'd come out of nowhere and ruin it"

He crossed his arms again like his plans had been foiled. They ate for a bit silently until Amy asked something.

"Sonic, I don't mean to pry but, how come you of all of our friends you have no girlfriend. I mean Even Tails manned up and asked Cream out"

The blue blur looked away "Well… I'm just not ready for one… I mean having a girlfriend requires commitment. Not to mention the feeling is being restrained and tied down… it makes me nervous and stuff. You know because I like to be free and run as much as I can and stuff" he tried to explain which other both other hedgehogs understood.

Amy smiled "Well, nobody is trying to rush you anymore so take all the time you need" Shadow agreeing with a silent nod.

Sonic smiled back glad his friends were so understanding of him.

With they finished and walked through the mall a bit more.

Right as Shadow was about to suggest they leave Sonic said "Wait, I want to go buy a new game for Tails and I!" running to EB games.

Amy followed which forced Shadow to follow as well.

Inside Sonic was excitedly looking around trying to decide between several choices.

Shadow just watched the childlike hedgehog. He sighed at him "Dude just choose something?"

"Man it's not easy. Tails and I like different things!" Sonic whined.

Shadow just chuckled "You sound like an old couple"

The blue hedgehog rolled his eyes but asked "Can I ask you something?"

"Free country" Shadow shrugged.

"So Tails hangs out with Cream a lot now… you heard anything. I just want to know like… how serious is he about this?" Sonic asked awkwardly.

Shadow paused then said "Very serious. He's been coming to me for some advice"

"Oh so that's why he suddenly stopped asking me for help" he wasn't offended, just a little surprised it was Shadow he went to "What'd he ask you?"

Shadow thought back "Advice on how to actually ask out Cream. Then he wanted do something nice for her and asked me what would be a good gift"

"Oh ya, what'd you suggest?" Sonic asked intrigued.

"I didn't specifically tell him anything. When he asked me how to ask her I suggested he find something that was pretty nerdy and romantic for him to ask. Then I suggested he find a gift he could make amazing with his skills but be something Cream would enjoy" he said telling the truth.

Sonic eyed him for a second and said "So did he choose something?"

"Yup" Shadow smirked staying quiet. It wasn't his business.

Sonic ears fell flat in frustration but said nothing and got back to his search.

Shadow continued to smirk and looked around for Amy. She was looking over her own games "You are a gamer?"

"Not as much as Sonic and Tails but ya I occasionally play" Amy answered.

"I never really cared for playing games" Shadow said looking at her as she was looking through one of the bottom shelves. He tried not to look her over.

"So what about that singing incident?" making Shadow close his eyes and sighed angrily.

"I was drunk" stating the obvious.

Amy laughed "That you were… OOOO tonight we should have a game night!" she smiled looking up at him momentarily. Even the quick sight of her face was like a flash of light and he felt blinded.

"Ya but as I said I don't play games. I'd kinda be useless… I can't even sing properly remember?"

Amy rolled her eyes "So is that what you do when people ask you to do new things. Just avoid it?"

Shadow groaned knowing what she was doing "Not all the time" hoping in vain that would be enough.

"Don't lie to me. You are gonna join me for a game night and like it" smirk plastered on her face.

Shadow inwardly cursed and Sonic zipped behind him "Hey why don't Tails and I join?"

Amy smiled "That'd be great, Cream will like having him around too"

"I'm sure they both will" Sonic winked wanting to give his friends gentle 'nudges'.

Both of them aw the look in his eyes and knew he was planning something. Although they knew there was no way to stop him. Amy and Sonic went back to their search while Shadow walked outside to get out of the small store.

While looking out he noticed two familiar figures walking through the mall. One was Vanilla who had her arms crossed with the large frame of Vector.

Now that Shadow looked back Vanilla rarely spoke of what they did. He watched as they walked along talking. Vector talking loudly of something making her laugh.

He was pulled from his thoughts feeling an arm wrap around the back of his neck "Hey bud what'cha watching?" Sonic asked a bag in his other hand.

Shadow nodded towards the crocodile and rabbit making Sonic chuckled.

"Oh what do you think they are doing?" the blue blur said getting excited.

"Walking a talking?" it felt kinda obvious.

"No but where are they going?" Sonic whispered.

"I don't know" Shadow shrugged.

"Wanna find out?" Sonic asked excitedly.

Before he could answer Amy walked behind them "What'cha talking about?"

The blue blur smirked "We're gonna spy on Vector and Vanilla"

Both Amy and Shadow thought that was a dumb idea, although Shadow spoke first "I don't think it is, she and Vector deserve their privacy"

He waved them off "Too late I'm already squinting my eyes" then zipped off hiding behind a way from the couple only a few meters away.

Both ebony and pink hedgehogs sighed and snuck up along with him. Shadow having an easier time since he had speed too. Amy caught up in another few seconds and they listened.

"Oh did I tell you the story where we painted Espio the same purple he normally is so when he tried to go invisible it seemingly wouldn't work? Man he thought he was broken all day" Vector laughed.

They heard Vanilla chuckle at his story and Shadow whispered. "See they're just talking, he's making her laugh. Good enough for you?"

"not even close" Sonic smirked.

Shadow turned to Amy "We don't haven't follow him, if he gets caught and we aren't here then we don't get in trouble"

She almost agreed but said "But abandoning him isn't very nice"

Shadow whisper-yelled "nice we're spying on two people who want privacy, that's not nice!"

"Aww come on look at him, he needs us" making Shadow turn.

He sighed rolling his eyes hearing Amy giggle too. Sonic was giving the worst puppy dog eyes he'd ever seen and just lightly slapped his cheek to make him stop.

Sonic hissed "Hey!"

"Shut up stupid, remember Vanilla has amazing ears" Shadow growled.

Amy gasped "I think she heard us" putting hands on both their mouths.

Like she said Vanilla stopped ear perking up in their direction "What is it?" Vector asked noticing her stop.

"I could swear I heard Sonic and Shadow" she looked around.

"Wonder why those two would be hanging out anyway" Vector commented waiting for the rabbit to make a move.

"Well I don't see them, guess I must have heard some similar sounding people" she shrugged walking in the direction they had been going again along with Vector.

All three hedgehogs sighed in relief and Shadow just smacked Sonic again "See?" still whispering.

"Ow" he rubbed his cheek.

He was about to suggest leaving when Amy pointed "hey look it's Rouge and Knuckles"

Sonic instantly forgot his cheek and said "Where? Like with each other or her following and bugging him?"

"A little of both from what I can tell" Amy said confused.

Both males looked and indeed there was Rouge and Knuckles walking together. Although apparently the bat was saying something to aggravate the echidna, his face showing his frustration.

Shadow thought back to his call with Rouge and what she said; maybe they were actually trying to hang out a bit?

He didn't speak of it and watched. Knuckles slowly calmed and spoke with Rouge. He wasn't trying to out walk her like normal and she didn't seem to be teasing… as much. It did actually look lie they were talking a bit.

"Wonder what they are doing?" Sonic asked but Shadow grabbed his scruff this time incase he just bolted ahead like a second ago.

"You realize I can just run still and drag you against your will" Sonic threatened, the feeling of someone holding his scruff slightly irritating.

"Try it and lose your quills and skin" his grip tightening as emphasis.

The blue blur made a soft grunt but tried nothing looking miserable because of it.

Amy giggled at him now and said turning back to the duo "Hmm, usually they only bicker, but they look more relaxed. What do you think Shadow?"

"I think we should leave them alone, you wouldn't someone spying on you, right?"

You got a point there but… Rouge spies on us all the time right? So technically it's more of returning a favor"

Sonic agreed "Ya, just paying her back is all" hands rubbing against eachother evilly.

Shadow knew there was no way of convincing them otherwise. So with a heavy sigh he let go of Sonic who instantly shot away hiding in another spot.

"Just remember Rouge is a bat and good has hearing remember?" Shadow said to Amy right before she left.

"Ya I know, now come on" she whispered and ran for cover too.

Shadow stuck next to Amy, mostly because he liked her more and stayed quiet.

"It must be lonely up on Angel Island eh?" the bat asked.

Knuckles stopped luckily allowing the hedgehogs to listen without having to move "Occasionally but sometimes I just get lost in the emerald and my thoughts. Or I just nap" she shrugged.

"Well why don't you come down here more often then?"

Knuckles eyed her, it was obvious "Because if I leave for even a moment then someone like you or Eggman could steal it"

Here was a short pause "I find it offensive that you'd believe I'd try to steal the emerald…. Again"

"Sorry if I don't believe in your promise to leave my stuff alone" he said crossing his arms.

Rouge then thought "Well why not ask Tails set up a defense grid around the island that only lets certain people even near the island?"

Knuckles thought it over for a moment "That would be a kinda big project though, even for him" trying to avoid that. He liked his job and wouldn't really know what do with all the extra free time.

"Oh come on, he's practically made spaceships. How hard can a defense grid be?" The bat argued her airy voice quite convincing.

"Then what's point of me being the Guardian of the master emerald if machines do my job" he asked feeling like a lot of the reason he even got up in the morning would be gone.

"Obviously there'd be times you'd be needed. I mean Eggman after failing to pass through it enough times would make some crazy plan. The grid would stall him long enough for you to get back then punch his mustache off" Rouge once again making a convincing point, clearly having thought of these before hand.

Knuckles laughed at her comment "Can you imagine" he slow motion punched making slow motion noises too "Oh now my beautiful mustache" he imitated Eggman.

He got a small but genuinely amused chuckle from his companion "Yes that would be funny… So?" wondering if he'd consider it.

"I'll think about it. You going to all this trouble to make me get off the island makes me think two things. You want me off the island to steal the emerald or you want me off the island to see me more" smirking at the second choice.

Rouge wasn't caught off guard at all "Coming from the guy who saved me after all the trouble you went through to get the pieces of that thing back"

"Hey you weren't the bad guy. Not mention it ended up being the smart choice" Knuckles said feeling she was just a little ungrateful.

She smirked "So I'm 'not that bad' better then what you said last time"

The echidna growled blushing at his loose tongue. Which only made Rouge laugh harder.

"Oh knucklehead, you crack me up" she smiled.

"And you drive me up the wall" the red echidna said stubbornly facing away arms crossed.

"Hmm, if you want you can 'drive me up a wall' as repayment" smirk heavy on her face.

It took Knuckles half a second to realize what she meant and blushed madly "Listen bat!" his blush still heavily apparent making his statement less intimidating "You wish I wanted to do that!" finger pointing at her angrily. Because he was so nervous and taken back by her statement his comeback kinda sucked too.

He tuned to walk away. With him walking away and feeling no one else saw or heard she frowned with a sigh "Perhaps I do…" she quickly got her composure back and followed heels clicking on the ground to catch up.

Crouching behind a small wall Sonic looked to his two friends a few feet away with a surprised expression and mouthed "Did you hear that?"

Both nodded thinking about it.

Shadow thought about yesterday. While he waited for Rouge at the park he thought about how she seemingly liked him for awhile then stopped. Maybe she switched targets. That would explain the sudden end of the intense flirting. He rubbed his chin in thought as the duo left still bickering.

"Well… what do we make of this?" Amy asked both males as Sonic approached.

Both shrugged but Sonic said "I'd like to say we should nude Knuckles to her but somehow I feel like he's too stubborn for that" he too now thinking and tapping his foot.

"Why don't we suggest Rouges idea to Tails. Like still have him ask Knuckles and act like he thought of it himself. Maybe two people saying the same thing and seemingly not working together will sway him" Amy asked.

Shadow nodded "That is a good idea. If he thought Tails asked it because of Rouge he'd never say yes. But coming from a good friend only he might actually agree" re iterating Amy's idea.

Sonic nodded "Ok, I'll go tell him when I get home" his smirk on his face again.

"What if he refuses though?" Sonic asked after a pause.

"Then we leave it. It's not our job to force anything. If he wants to be on that island by himself that's his choice" Shadow said. He always kinda liked Knuckles too. Solitary and worked for a purpose without question. Reminded him of himself. He was charged with protecting the humans for the rest of his life. He wouldn't succeed though, they'd eventually kill eachother and he'd never be able to stop it.

Amy nodded in agreement, "As much as I think Knuckles needs something else in his life, he's too stubborn to push"

Sonic nodded understanding them "Well I better head home, let Tails know of our plan and our plans tonight. We'll show up around… 7, that sound ok?"

Amy nodded "Ya sure. That's after dinner for us. Vanilla likes to eat at 6"

Sonic nodded and ran off leaving Amy alone with Shadow.

"So we better head home right?" Shadow asked not noticing Amy had her own bag from EB games.

"Sure. We'll walk back, I left the car to Vanilla today"

With the two walked out of the mall and Shadow finally noticed the bag since the sun shined off it into his eye.

"What'd you get?"

"You'll find out tonight" she smirked booping his nose.

His head jerked annoyed from her poke and said "Fine be that way" He knew it would be bad but he just didn't care right now. He was walking with Amy and wanted to talk.

"What did ya do before I text you?"

Amy shrugged since it wasn't very exciting "I was went to various places looking for Sonic, his house, places he liked to go, on the streets in general. Then I went to the mall and five minutes later you text me"

"Ah I see" finding the question to be a waste of time.

"Hey you said Sonic might not be in a good mood this morning? Shadow gulped "You also said you spoke to him yesterday? He knew about that afternoon in the rain you told me not to tell anyone. Then he looks tired and instantly tries to apologize for being a jerk all these years. What happened?" heavy suspicion in her voice.

Shadow couldn't lie. She knew all the fact except exactly how their talk went down and sighed "Ok… he bugged me yesterday and one thing led to another and I told him how much of a jerk he was to you all these years. I told him that story… by the end he looked totally destroyed and ran off. He met me earlier before I text you… he smelt like alcohol looked much more tired then you saw and was a mess… I think he went to a bar… or four last night and frank his sorrows away. That's how bad he felt for what I told him" Shadow felt like Amy would beat the crap out of him for putting her former crush under such distress.

"He… was that hurt by knowing that?" she asked weakly. Her simply forgiveness when he apologized felt kinda small now compared to what Sonic went through last night. Her ears drooped feeling bad for him.

"Wow…. I thought he was just kinda asking forgiveness, not to that extent. I feel like just forgiving him like that wasn't good enough"

Shadow shook his heads "No, no, no! You have no idea how much just simple forgiveness meant to him. He was one hundred percent sure you'd reject him so you did more then he ever expected"

Amy was surprised he was going through so much to help Sonic…. Even though he kinda caused Sonic to go through all of it. It was still admirable , he obviously lied when he said they weren't friends all the time. She kept her trap shut though.

"Well… in that case I guess it's good enough… why'd you end up telling him?" she asked.

"Remember how angry I was at him in the forest? I meant. He needed to know Rose. But he genuinely hates himself for it" His emotions for her rising making him spout it out with passion.

"You are too good to be rejected so many times without even a chance and made to cry so many times. In my opinion he missed out" he very quickly subsided his emotional tone on the last sentence so he sounded indifferent. This was not how he was gonna reveal his feelings for her.

Amy still smiled and hugged him "That's so sweet of you two say Shadow. I don't know what to say" so she just gave him a thankful kiss on the cheek making him blush badly.

She giggled and let him go as their walk home continued again. They talked the whole way there of random stuff. Shadow even letting off a joke or two to make Amy laugh. All in all despite all of Sonics stupidity, he had a good day.

Arriving at home they were alone. Cream was due from school any minute now unless she decided to go to Sonic and Tails house.

"So what we gonna do until 7?" Amy asked.

Shadow just shrugged getting a drink from the fridge.

"She tapped her chin thinking in an over exaggerated way "Hmmm.. OH I could read you with my tarot cards!"

His ears perked "You actually believe those things?"

"Of course!" she said slight offended.

Shadow just coughed loudly "Sonic totally not your husband!... oh sorry there that was a bad cough" he smirked.

Amy looked angry at him making his cower a bit "That was one wrong reading!"

"Oh and I bet if you read me the answer would always bee the same time after time right?" he asked sarcastically.

"That's not how it works!"

"Oh so then why should I live my life at all? I could play the tarot cards like fifty times and learn everything that would happen in my life. What's the point of living then without surprises?" he shrugged trying to just state his opinion. Honestly he didn't care if they worked or not. It just felt boring to be told your future. Cause either it's real and you end up there and have no surprise that you ended up there. Or the idea of it makes you motivated to get there.

Amy crossed her arms at him tapping her foot "Well if you don't want to learn something then don't" turning away arms crossed.

"Ok, fine I won't" her obvious reverse psychology failing hard.

"Aww come on, let me do it just once!" she turned now somewhat begging him.

He growled annoyed but her face forced him to say "Ok, fine… once"

"YES!" he pumped her fist in victory.

She led him to the living room and he sat on the couch. She sat on the other side of the coffee table on her knees and started shuffling the cards.

"Ok ask me something" she demanded.

Shadow thought and after awhile asked something he thought wouldn't raise too much suspicion "Will I ever have a long lasting girlfriend?"

Amy took a deep breath and played out the six cards.

Reading them over she said "I see that at first your love life was filled with nothingness, but then a glimmer of hope appeared and raised your spirits. It will be a hard road mostly because you hold yourself back, but-" she was just about to get to what he wanted to hear, so far the prediction was surprisingly accurate, but the door opened. Revealing Cream. The door opening let in a gust of wind blowing the cards off the table and out of order.

He wanted to curse to badly but realized that maybe it was best this way. If he knew what happened then there'd be no surprise. He almost didn't want to know how things would go. He doubted the cards were really fortune tellers but she had been really accurate up to that point.

"Oops" Amy said "Man I was getting to the good part" also somewhat mad she lost the cards. Sadly she focused on one card at a time and didn't know the order or even which cards were part of it. Since the gust of wind blew a few cards off the top of the deck too.

The rabbit hopped in oblivious to what she accidentally did "Hey guys! How long you been here?"

Shadow leaned back in his seat "Only a few minutes" taking a sip of his drink hiding his disappointment well.

The rabbit nodded heading upstairs.

"Sorry about that Shadow" Amy apologized for Cream.

"It's alright, so what now?" he asked deciding that he didn't want to hear the prediction even if she could emulate her choices again.

"Ummm…. Well… could train you a bit on the games we play?" she shrugged it being the best idea she could think of.

"Sure why not, I don't want to be totally humiliated tonight" feeling that would probably be a good idea.

Amy had just put her cards back together and grabbed his wrist and yanked him out of his seat. She practically dragged him downstairs making him almost spill his drink and said "First I'm gonna tell you, Sonic plays fast and by instinct alone. Tails try's to think in his head and make a plan. So usually Sonic is fast and reckless while Tails is slower but more calculated" Made sense considering their personalities.

"Ok, so how does that help me in a video game?" he asked. His understanding of just how immersive games could get now a days was limited.

"You'll see"

He shrugged not expecting much but sat in the computer chat as she turned on the xbox.

"Sonic and Tails will probably pair us up together so I kinda do whatever feel right in the moment" she explained throwing in Halo Reach.

He'd vaguely heard of the halo series. Apparently was one of the big names in gaming. Course that was a matter of opinion if it was good or not. All he really knew of the series was it was about space marines vs aliens and some dude called Master chief.

Amy tossed him a controller and said "We need to make a profile for you too"

"A what?" he asked "Why can't I just turn on the game and play it?"

"A profile is so the games know who's playing. If you signed in as Sonic you'd technically be Sonic in the games eyes. Everything he's done would there and any game you played you'd be using his saved games. A profile would make it your saves. So say in a game like this where you have a custom character…"

"Wow custom character?" he asked "What happened to just playing as a that master chief guy?" he interrupted.

"Shut up don't interrupt me" she snapped making him cower "Anyway, this game does feature Master chief… except and easter egg"

Shadow didn't even want to ask why a master chief would be painted on an easter egg in the game.

"You play as a character that is your own, he or she hardly talks but is a badass. And you can make them look you how you want as long as you've earned enough in game cash and leveled up to use that piece of armor"

He looked at her oddly.

She sighed "Here look at my girl" she smiled.

She brought up the character screen and standing there was a punk armored character. Wearing lighter armor, she even had the mechanical arm.

"Oh… I think I get it now" he said seeing the custom character.

"Ok so let's make a profile for ya" Amy smiled.

Several minutes later he had a profile hich just was called 'Shadow' profile picture chosen which was of himself. Sonic had bought a pack of profile picks that were all of his friends and himself. His avatar looked as much like him as the game could make him and they went into the game again.

"Ok take a minute to make your guy" She said texting somebody.

Starting with the free 5k credits he made something he liked with the limited options, then painted his armor black with red detail like himself. Finally he chose a insignia which was the crossed swords. Although Amy had to tell them they were sword since they were so compared to sword he knew.

"Alright, cool"

We've been on here for twenty minutes and played nothing, why are games so fun again?" he asked sarcastically.

"Shut up, like real life games take a bit of preparation. But we're going to campaign now" she said taking control and started up a new game on normal difficulty.

He sighed and waited "So what do I do?"

"Shoot aliens, don't shoot the teammates we have and other humans, duh" she rolled her eyes.

"I meant controls" he groaned.

She quickly explained everything, in the default and recon control schemes. Shadow felt the controls made more sense on the recon setting so stayed with that and walked around following his pink teammate. Getting to know the HUD, controls, general feel of the game.

As the team in the game spoke of finding Marines who were Missing Amy explained some background of the game so he wouldn't be confused by everything. It was much appreciated.

But after a little bit they finally met the first enemies and Amy being the more experienced took lead and Shadow awkwardly followed. The aiming was a bit difficult, he would jerk a bit too much and not hit the head like Amy told him too. But he didn't die and that was more important.

They continued to play for a while eventually beating the level. By the time they got there Shadow was more comfortable with the controls and was more consistently hitting targets. He actually was having some fun. Especially when Elites appeared and offered an actual challenge.

Suddenly the achievement symbol popped up with it's usual chime "What the hell is that?"

"And achievement silly. You killed enough people with the pistol which is a minor achievement. Every game had them. Some are simple and some are hard. Like that one is easy and other are hard like the vidmaster challenge. Most achievements give gamerscore, basically a number of how much achievements you've earned.

Shadow rolled his eyes "Oh great, shows you how much of a gamer geek you are" rolling his eyes at the idea.

"It's not that important. I've got over five thousand points, I hardly play and I don't achievement hunt" she explained putting it into perspective.

They played some more until Amy spoke again.

"We probably won't play this anyway, this is just a fun game I liked. When the boys get here, we'll either play whatever Sonic got or what I got smirk on her face.

That only scared him seeing her smirk and knew he'd hate whatever she had planned.

"Oh ya that probably means you'll have to make a profile on the xbox one then" she said making him groan.

"I'll do that since I know what you want now" she offered making him atleast accept that.

"So what did Sonic get? You were in the store when he bought it"

She shrugged "No idea, the bag was a bit bigger then normal so it must have been something like a special edition or something"

He didn't really think about it and heard someone talking around upstairs. Actually two people.

Both hedgehogs went upstairs to go find out who it was. Like they expected the first was Vanilla but the second Vector.

"Hey you two" Amy greeted Shadow just behind.

Both croc and rabbit waved and the mother spoke "Hello, how are you?"

"Pretty good" Amy answered for them both "Hey Vector" she quickly greeted to him.

"Hey Amy"

Vanilla smiled and said "Vector is gonna stay for dinner"

Amy smiled "Oh cool, guess that means Shadow doesn't get the head of the table for once" looking to the hedgehog who indifferently shrugged.

Amy then turned and quickly said "Oh and Sonic and Tails are stopping by after dinner to hang out that ok?"

"As long as you are quiet" she said smiling.

"We'll try" the pink hedgehog agreed.

With the Amy and Shadow politely walked downstairs and gave the two privacy.

Once downstairs Amy said "Wow she's feeding him now. Getting serious" joking around.

The dark hedgehog smiled amused "Yes very serious, it's not like Vanilla tries to feed anyone she can in the house"

Both laughed a moment and Amy felt her phone vibrate.

Talked to Tails, he's coming over, also mentioned our plans. He'll ask Knucks when he finds a moment-Sonic

Amy repeated the message to Shadow who nodded "Ok so I guess it's up to Tails to convince that stubborn echidna" when he said it like that it sounded like a huge job for the young fox.

"He'll get it done… hopefully"

With that they waited another hour having set up Shadows profile for the xbox one as well and another for PS4. Although Shadow didn't take part and Amy did it all. He found it tedious to have to do it all. She argued it was necessary and was like your personal memory card. Plus you only had to make it once and it was there forever.

He wasn't gonna argue and wasted time by playing more Halo.

Soon dinner rolled around and they were called up. Amy ran up stairs feeling hungry and Shadow followed at a walking pace. When he got upstairs he found Cream, Vector and Vanilla putting the last of the food on the table.

The dark hedgehog sat at the opposite side of the table then normal with Vector taking his spot at the head of the table, like before he didn't care. Vanilla sat to the crocs right and Cream to his left. Amy sat closer to the shadow on his right beside Cream.

Like always they performed grace and ate.

Amy was curious and asked "So Vec, what'd you and Vanilla do today? She's always quiet and doesn't talk about what you guys do. She's embarrassed"

The croc nervously scratched his head "If she isn't talking I'd rather not either"

"For a detective you like to keep secrets a lot" Shadow remarked with a smirk.

"There are many secrets detective must keep, like client names and addresses" he said chuckling at his attempts to get him to talk.

Shadow rolled his eyes but was already trying to find a way to get him to talk. For such a loud crocodile he was tight lipped when he wanted to be.

Cream then asked "So when's the wedding?" surprisingly her comment made both blush in embarrassment. There was no wedding just the question was so sudden.

"Cream, stop!" her mother whined to her.

"No I want to know are you serious Vector?" anyone with half a brain could tell she was messing with him but he was stuttering.

"O-of course, I didn't wait years to finally get the courage to ask her out to just play her" his answer surprisingly revealing about how much he cared about the rabbit making him blush harder when he realized he said that.

Cream and Amy giggled and Vanilla cooed "Oh Vector, that's so sweet of you"

Shadow watched silently amused. Vector was obviously a nice guy, even though he liked say he was motivated by money he had a good heart and helped people in need. That transitioned over to this too. He wasn't a guy looking for a quick hook up, he really wanted this to work out. Besides Vanilla needed it, she had raised Cream almost by herself under stressful kidnappings and stuff too. She deserved a loving partner for the second half of her life.

He continued to silently watch through out the dinner. Nobody pestered the croc like they had after that. Maybe the odd joke but nothing prying. He spoke when he had to but in general stuck to himself just listening to the four.

But soon the dinner was over and Shadow was about to help with dishes until Vector said "No don't worry I got this. You do it all the time from what Vanilla says"

Shadow shrugged letting him be nice and walked downstairs. He was stopped hearing the doorbell "I got it"

He walked to the door and opened it revealing who expected, Sonic and Tails. The Hedgehog had that bag he had when he left and like Amy said it boxier then just a normal game.

"Hey Shadow, can we come in?" Sonic asked. He received a nod and the dark hedgehog stepped aside letting both walk in.

Sonic made a b-line for the basement but still made sure to greet Vanilla and Vector who surprised him although he didn't ask.

Tails did and they explained he was just here for the afternoon. Although right after that Cream hugged him from behind "Hi Tails!"

"He Cream" he chuckled nervously blushing.

Shadow was walking downstairs while Amy said "Don't take too long you two, we got games to play" then followed Shadow downstairs.

Downstairs Sonic was opening a box, on it was Borderlands the handsome jack collection.

"You bought that?" Amy asked surprised "You already have both games?"

"Ya but it's next gen, sixty fps, and four player same console co-op" he said excitedly.

"Oh I see, you got it so all four of us could play?"

He nodded "Just got to choose who we'll play as. I'm calling Krieg right off the bat" he smirked.

"I'm sure Tails will take Gaige, guess I'll be Maya"

Shadow was clueless the entire time "Who were these people and what was the difference?

Amy and Sonic both noticed and explained all the characters. Shadow decided to go with Zero because he seemed to be cool and was silent-ish like himself.

When Tails came downstairs they got started booting up the game and starting a new game. Like Amy predicted Tails went with Gaige and everyone else got what they called.

The different art style was a bit weird to Shadow but got used to it. He also like the goriness of the game. Admittedly he laughed at the game too, Jack was amazing as a villain.

"He's a smarter villain then Eggman" Shadow managed to joke.

"I know right. He calls upon all these bad guys and they don't betray him either" Tails added.

Shadow had to admit this was fun. The four worked well together, Sonic being Krieg worked out well since his playstyle was reckless, Amy worked well as the medic of the team. Tails offered a lot of elemental strength thanks to Gaiges powers and finally Shadow sniped adding raw power head shots.

They played for several hours, Cream even came down and cuddled up to Tails as they played.

Shadow hadn't noticed until late in the night Amy was sitting close to him as well although not like Cream was with Tails. It was still close enough that he blushed a bit.

By around ten Sonic said "Well I'd love to stay and kick more ass but Tails and I need to head home. He's got some project he wants to work on before he heads to sleep"

Amy nodded "Ya and I got work in the morning so that's probably a good idea"

Within a few minutes the fox and blue hedgehog left. Cream went to sleep along with Amy.

Shadow quickly brushed his teeth before sleeping and thought back to the day he had. It hadn't gone down quite like he expected when he woke up but he was pleasantly surprised that it was a good day. He slipped into sleep on the couch and dreamed of good things.

 **Oh man that was a bit of an ordeal. I kinda suck at these lulls where nothing goes on. But I say it all the time. A story can't be all plot, sometimes you just need some time to slow down and talk and work on other stuff. So I tried to slip in a few things I wanted to do. Hope you enjoyed what I did this chapter I promise I'll get to the plot again… whatever plot that is.**

 **I own none of the franchises, game characters nor consoles etc, mentioned in this chapter. Although I must say Love both Halo and the borderlands franchises.**

 **As for Tarot cards, I don't think they actually work. Atleast not in the way people perceive it to. I quickly passed by the idea that they subliminally make you want to accomplish what they 'predict' and essentially they tell the future by motivating you to reach that future. That's the best I can say about them. Is it mystical and really psychic no, atleast not to me. But I think they motivate… sometimes. Imagine if the cards were all negative? I don't want to offend anyone with my views on that. I just hope some people appreciate that I believe the cards work in different ways.**

 **So anyway thanks for reading and let me know what you think**

 **Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	12. The heist

**A/N So last chapter was pretty good(to me atleast, but that feels kinda narcissistic) I don't really have much to say right now so maybe I'll have more at the end(Not that many people actually read this part)**

The next day went by normally. Shadow took Amy to work then spent the day doing stuff like working out and chores. After that he brought her home and spent the rest of the day doing their regular thing. Although Shadow could tell she was excited for tomorrow and their heist. He gave her the paper which was her identity for the night. She was his girlfriend of a few months. Grew up in an upper class family and her name was Janine Perkins.

Shadows identity was business owner Gerald Armstrong.

From what he heard Tails went to find Knuckles after school and spoke to him about the defense systems. The echidna didn't speak of it but seemed surprised to hear the same idea from Rouge and Tails.

After some convincing Knuckles finally allowed Tails to work on the idea and see how it worked before he made a definite decision. All Tails had to do was impress him and their plan will have worked.

Other then that Sonic and Amy were still on good terms, infact they were closer then they'd ever been in years.

Unknown to everyone besides Shadow Tails was progressing on Robo-Cheese well and planned to reveal him in a few days. He'd gotten the hardest stuff done first luckily so Knuckle's defense network would be easier.

It was next day, the day of the heist. Shadow went to grab his tux so he'd have it for later and not feel rushed. Amy had yet to show him her dress wanting to keep it a surprise. Besides that both of them spent the day doing what they normally did.

Tails constantly text him telling him that Sonic was bugging him forcing him to pester the dark hedgehog. Infact after awhile Shadow assumed Sonic stole Tail's phone and was doing it himself.

So any special stuff you're gonna do tonight besides just the dinner, bet you're gonna propose-Tails

It may have been from Tails but he was sure it was Sonic now. Although the idea of proposing to Amy made him blush a bit.

Sonic give back Tai's phone!-Shadow

"What? This Tails, duh-Tails

He rolled his eyes and ignored him putting the phone on silent.

He was just putting it down and got a text from Rouge somewhere in between the mass texting her was getting from Sonic.

So everything is all good for tonight?-Rouge

He text back…

Yes everything is fine, Amy is still in. Nothing wrong on your end?-Shadow

She responded with a 'no' then asked…

You owe me for giving you and your girlfriend this night out, you know that right?-Rouge.

He rolled his eyes, if only she knew what they were doing in the background for her.

I'm sure we'll find a way to repay you, I know you probably have an idea anyway-Shadow

He could almost feel the mischievous smile as her reply was simply "Yup" followed by a devil emoticon.

Rouge left him with that only leaving one more message which was just a reminder of when to arrive and the address again.

After that all he got was more and more Sonic spam.

He watched TV having finally finished his chores fro the day. During that time he'd been working on his identity, purposely working his voice to not sound as harsh. Add some politeness to it and generally make his voice sound less intimidating.

He had told Amy to work on her identity as well. Like act like a richer woman would. Get the walk down, the speech and other more subtle traits. He felt she could do that.

Although in time 6 six o'clock rolled around and he went into the bathroom to get dressed.

Upon completing his outfit he looked himself over in the mirror. His quills were freshly done up. The size of the tuxedo was good along with the pants. He still hated stuff like this. He also hated that fact that his chest fur had to be covered up and it made him feel hot and sweaty there. The only problem was his stupid bowtie; he could never figure out how to tie it and sighed. He'd have to ask someone else to do it.

He stared at himself in the mirror and took a deep breath "You are Gerald, you are Gerald…" he repeated the line several times as his voice slowly turned to the one he'd been practicing today.

Finally he looked to the lame rose his tuxedo had come with and smiled hoping Amy… Janine, didn't have one herself. He also had one extra accessory he wanted to give her but waited to see if she had one of those too.

Taking one last soothing sigh he walked out to face Vanilla "Oh don't you look handsome!' He blushed a but thanked her.

"She'll be down in a few minutes" Vanilla said.

God it felt like prom, waiting at the front door for your date to come down the stares…. Except no angry dad eyeing your every move. 

He stood there nervously finding his dress shoes to be incredibly uncomfortable, but that's what you get for wearing a pair of shoes especially designed for you your entire life. He also had an itch that kept coming back intensely no matter how many times he scratched it.

Vanilla noticed "Calm down Shadow, you'll be fine" if only she knew just how fine he'd have to be to pull this off.

Another few minutes of fidgeting and Vanilla watching him, which didn't help at all. He also felt himself get a bit hotter and wished he could undo his chest buttons and let out his chest hair to cool off. His foot tapped intensely until he heard movement up the steps.

He took a deep breath hoping he'd be able to control himself and heard footsteps. Sounded like heels. His ear flicked with every tap.

Then she came around the corner at the top of the stairs to reveal herself. He almost fainted. She was wearing a long dress, strapless and no sleeves revealing her slim feminine arms. It was black on the top on the chest, stomach and back. After that the black separated into lines that made beautiful shapes. The actual skirt that wasn't covered in the black lines was pink and loose so it waved around when she walked.. The front of the skirt only extended to just past her knees while the back extended to the floor to her heels. The dress hugged her curves, which made the outfit even better.

He realized his breath had escaped him and said "….Wow" he was a very happy camper right now.

She blushed and asked :You really think it's that good" doing a quick turn revealing the dress dipped a bit down her back too. She'd done her quills up. She made then curl and they just barely cured above her shoulders. She hadn't put on much make-up, he thought she was beautiful without it, but she had done up her eyelashes and had shiny red lipstick on. Finally she had some nice earings on.

He just nodded remembering not to drool. A she walked downstairs and ended up next to him. He could hardly contain a smile seeing her so beautiful. He was so entranced he hardly noticed that the dress was a bit revealing for the chest too.

Vanilla snapped her fingers making him remembering his own stuff and he revealed the red rose.

"What's this for?" she asked surprised.

"It came with my suit, but I thought it'd go better in your hair or something" he nervously said letting her look it over.

She smiled "Sure It couldn't" Although extending her hand.

He took that as his queue to tie it around her wrist and soon it was on. It wasn't that big and was just wider then her own wrist. The red on her wrist complimented the black she wore well.

He then revealed his other gift. It was a small silver tiara with a heart shaped gem in the middle. He remembered talking about a tiara with her awhile back and kept his promise. It wasn't real gems but looked enough like it.

She gasped "Oh Shadow you actually remembered our talk?" she asked taking it gently.

He blushed lightly "Ya guess I did" shrugging at the end.

Amy then placed the small tiara on her head and adjusted until she felt it looked right "Look good?"

"Looks great' he said looking at the completed outfit.

She blushed at his comment and said "So… should we be getting going?"

"Let me check?" he said taking his phone. Rouge had used a favour to get them a good car to drive to the ball so they didn't drive up in some cheap looking car. All for the image of course.

Luckily for him since Vanilla and Cream were teasing him behind Amy's back he had a message from Rouge "I'm waiting"

He nodded and led her out and said "Yu two have fun tonight without us" to the rabbits who waved them goodbye.

Outside was a limo, not the what he was expecting but good enough. They walked to the back door and inside they found Rouge waiting, sharpening her nails with a file.

The bat looked up seeing the two enter and said "Well, I feel so under dressed now" impressed by their outfits "Although Amy, I think you are missing something… hmmm, oh this' she tossed over a white fuzzy scarf "To cover up those shoulders"

Amy shrugged ant took it letting it hang from her neck and arm.

Rouge was in her sneaking suit that resembled a ninja gi with the exception of her face mask.

"So remember what you are doing. You are keeping an eye out incase security suddenly gets tense. If they do call me on this" she pulled out a watch. Hold the set time button and it will activate the microphone" then pointed to a small bud in her ear which was how she'd hear.

Shadow nodded and asked "How long do you think it will take you?"

To get in, probably a few minutes. To open the safe quietly, undetermined depending on how lucky I am with the numbers. Then probably… another half an hour to get all the money from the safe to the car depending on what kinds of stuff are in there. Then plus or minus other x factors like security on the upper floor and stuff" she explained.

Shadow nodded again "Sounds like we got the easy job Janine"

"Well except keeping up the act, Gerald" she smirked back.

Amy then looked to Rouge "Oh, to ease my conscience a bit. Does this guy do crummy stuff?"

Well if you consider a high pay check compared to the other members of his upper body of shareholders, paying his low level workers bad wages and cuts on safety precautions each year. Then ya" Rouge listed a couple of reasons.

Amy smirked "Ok I definitely want this guy to lose some cash then"

"Good, it's kinda late to back out anyway" she smirked.

"So who's driving?" Shadow asked suspiciously.

"A man I use sometimes. Don't worry about shares being effected, I pay him myself" she explained "He's good and trustworthy, I've taken him on several heists you weren't apart of Shadow"

Shadow knew she did some work without him; it was all about who had the skills she needed to make things work. He wasn't usually doing stuff like this but she knew he needed cash and broke the rule for once.

They drove for about fifteen more minutes. Amy obviously nervous, Shadow calmed her the best he could. "Just keep your head and if you need me to, I'll do most of the talking" he offered. Just a few minutes from reaching their stop Shadow said "And remember, from this point on until we get back into this limo, we are Gerald and Janine"

Then the limo stopped and Rouge said still filing her nails "Well this is your stop. When I'm done I'll send a signal to your watch and it will chime like an alarm. If anyone asks tell them you need to go somewhere and leave" she explained then quickly handed over an envelope which contained the party invites.

With their final instructions over Shadow, took the invites, opened the door and got up, he turned and helped Janine out of the limo. In behind him was a large staircase leading to a massive house.

"Wow" Janine said linking arms with Gerald.

"Man can you imagine being this rich you can afford this house and still live without worries?" Gerald said leading her up the stairs. He took it easy since she wore heels.

Once at the top a small table with a a few woman were waiting. All dressed up, they walked up to a female mouse and handed over his envelope.

She looked through the ledger. Janine and Gerald both felt really nervous. The moment of truth, did Rouges contacts make this happen of leave them out to dry?

After an excruciatingly long time she smiled "Ah here you are, late editions I see. Have a good evening Mr. Armstrong"

"You too" he smiled leading his date inside.

Both sighed right as they reached the door. Now all they had to do was blend in and keep their eyes out.

Immediately once walking in they heard voices all over. Many humans or Mobians were present and enjoying themselves. Many with drinks.

Shadow knew he'd have a hard time in this crowd but focusing he turned into Gerald and led Amy around "So Janine, is it what you expected?" he asked.

"Much larger then I expected actually" she said perfectly getting into her role immediately.

Glad she was taking it so fast he got them both drinks. It suddenly occurred to him that they were different people. Like a real life role-play in public. It was exciting. He could tell she came to the same conclusion and knew this would be a fun night.

Throught out the night they spoke with people all over, Shadow slowly making up a background as people asked. After about an hour he was an owner of a furniture franchise with several locations throughout the state. He had been given control of the company recently be his recently deceased father and this was his first business venture since then. Luckily nobody fact checked him and he was able to pull off a good personality.

Personally he found some of these people annoying. Overly preppy and try-hards when it came to how they dressed, especially the woman.

He didn't know how Rouge was doing but he and Janine slowly talked to enough people that the frequency of conversations lowered. So they were able to just talk by themselves.

Outside…

Rouge finally had found a place to put the car that was close but hidden and took off in her full thieving suit. Landing on the roof near the rear of the house and she looked for a skylight window.

Didn't take long the lights coming from it shined like a beacon.

She kneeled next to the window and got out her tools. She worked the lock trying to open it.

A human walked by making her duck down, luckily he heard and saw nothing so she kept at it but cursed since someone was upstairs now.

Finally the lock opened and she slowly opened the window and hung upside down from the frame and looked around.

"nobody" she whispered to herself. She did a elegant flip around and softly landed on the expensive rug below.

She started to creep around trying to remember the blue prints to the house she'd been studying. She dropped down at the rear window of the house and the safe was on the east side.

She nodded remembering and starting stalking through the hall taking every step with caution.

She heard two people approaching, two males. Casually talking from what she could hear with her super ears.

She leaped up and flapped and wedged herself into the corner of the ceiling.

Two security guards passed by just talking. They obviously suspected nothing. She watched quiet as a dead mouse since she didn't even breathe until they passed and rounded a corner.

The bat dropped down and continued to her infiltration of the house. Her ears also picked up on the many houseguests and hoped Shadow and Amy were having a good time.

She ran into two other guards but avoided them with ease. Remembering the blue prints she opened a door and found an office looking room.

She remembered exactly where the safe was, somewhere behind the wall behind the impressive desk. She guessed it was made of some fine wood and was well taken care of considering the polish and lack of scratches.

Closing the door behind her she kneeled down and placed a small sensor on the bottom of the door. It would peak under the crack of the door and if someone passed or stepped up to the door it would vibrate her earpiece giving her time to hide or ambush whoever it was.

With it secured she started looking around for a button or switch to open the wall.

During her search she also looked through some paper work and snapped a few pictures for later. She could possibly use them for future endeavors.

As she was taking one last picture her earpiece vibrated. With cat like reflexes she ducked under the desk and waited hearing the door open.

"Bill what are you doing, the boss said not to go in his office?"

"I know but I could swear I saw flashes"

"Well do you see anything?"

"No"

"Then leave it"

"Fine, we need to get payed more for standing around while a party is goin-' the door closed mid sentence and Rouges peaked around the desk and saw nobody around.

She sighed glad to hear that she'd be left alone as long as she made no noise in here.

Then as luck would have it there it was, a red button on the bottom of the desk. She silently thanked the guards for making her go under here and finding it.

She pushed it and heard the wall slowly slide to the side revealing a metal door slightly wider then a normal door.

Smirking and cracking her knuckles she approached it and kneeled down. Ear on the door she started playing with the lock.

Downstairs…

Gerald and Janine had take a seat at a table having gotten tired of standing for awhile. Janine especially liked sitting down since she rarely wore heels.

"So you been having fun dear?' he asked his voice still holding.

"Yes very fun, plenty to drink. Good food to eat. Pleasant food and you to look at all handsome-like" she batted her eyes at him dreamily. She was obviously trying to push his persona.

He hummed "Thank you Jennie, You look ravishing tonight as well. I might not be able to control myself once we get back to the car" he said also pushing her persona. He obviously won since she blushed a bit, mostly from what he said and partially from the nickname.

"Maybe we should go dance" his date said already standing.

He gulped "He actually didn't know how to slow dance. She was seriously pushing it now.

He got up and walked with and whispered :I don't know how to dance" subtly speaking through the side of his mouth.

"Just follow my lead and once we get a rhythm you take charge" she whispered back.

He was ok with that and they reached the dance floor. He put his hands on her waist nervously while she wrapped her arms around his neck and started leading him. He couldn't stand it and felt a blush come from his cheeks again.

But once the initial embarrassment went away he enjoyed himself. Being so Close to… Janine, was amazing. Her small figure so soft in his hands and her arms gentle around his neck. He looked into her amazing green orbs getting lost in them. What he didn't realize was she was doing the same with his rubies.

They danced for a bit and soon Shadow took lead finally. It was magical, he felt alone with her for awhile and was so close to giving her a surprise kiss when they heard two voices they really didn't want to hear.

"Shadow, Amy?" hearing a male voice.

Shadow looked over Amy's shoulder and saw Silver, dressed up like he was in a nice tuxedo as well, and Blaze next to him. She wore a more formal dress with a single strap on the right shoulder, in mostly purple, the entire skirt went down to her heels. She had white gloves that went up the majority of her arms. Her dress had fire like patterns doing down the skirt too. Finally her hair was down up like it was usually was with the exception of a ribbon or two in there.

Both hedgehogs froze. What the hell were they doing here? Shadow thought to himself. He was glad nobody was listening intently enough to hear the new names and walked to them keeping his persona up with Amy. She wasn't as composed as him but it wasn't important right now.

His whole act was up until he was inches from them and suddenly his voice got deep and whispered in Silvers ear "What the hell are you doing here? And call us Janine and Gerald, please" he hoped they'd pick up on all this quick and work with them.

Silver looked awkwardly and shot him a confused look and he fired back a look that said "Just do it!"

Silver cleared his throat "Oh I'm sorry you reminded me of two people I know, sorry about that Gerald" scratching his arm nervously.

"Come, let's go to our table and speak there" he offered planning to atleast partially explain what was happening here.

The silver hedgehog and cat followed still confused but said nothing until they reached the table.

"What is going on?" Blaze asked quietly since it was probably a secret the way he was handling it.

Shadow then answered in some random answer like she asked something else "Please Blaze, it's Gerald. Mr Armstrong was my father" subtly giving her his fake name too "Have you met my girlfriend Janine?" he asked doing the same for Amy.

"No I don't think I have" she played along shaking Amy's hand like they were first meeting.

Silver then said quietly but sternly "Ok what's happening?"

Shadow just continued his fake conversation "So what brings you to this party?"

Silver rolled his eyes hating being ignored and Blaze said "Well as we said awhile back we were gone for business, and during that time we were invited here. SO here we are"

Gerald nodded as Janine gained her persona back "We got last minute invites when someone said they couldn't come"

Silver then tried blurting another question out "Why you don't…"

Shadow interrupted once again "Silver, I've told Blaze of my company before, has she told you about me?"

Silver just gave up crossing his arms in frustration and said in a bored, voice with hints of sarcasm like he was very badly acting "No, I don't believe she has"

He explained his fake background Silver barely listening, why should he listen to him when he ignored his questions?

Blaze thought listened and said "Yes, now it's coming back to me. I'm sorry for forgetting Gerald" she knew there was some kind of ruse going on and played along for now.

"No problem. Janine and I were taking this as a way to have a date as well" he hoped that would answer enough questions implying he and Amy were on a date. Hen 'dating' was not new to them.

"Oh that sounds nice. How'd you get tickets again?" she asked wanting that key detail.

Shadow partially lied "A friend gave them to us, they couldn't make it and gave it to us" hoping that would satisfy her need for information for now.

She nodded and said "So Gerald how do you like the party so far?" the question made the couple relax for now.

"It's good so far. We were dancing right before you interrupted us" he said subtly saying he was annoyed by that.

"Sorry about that" she said a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

Silver finally spoke again feeling left out "From all the stuff Blaze has told me about you. I thought you wouldn't be into a large party?" His knowledge of Shadow accurate.

"Yes normally, but if it's for work I have to struggle through it" he accidentally heavily hinted what he was doing there.

Blaze realized it first with a wide eyes and whispered "Where's Rouge?" holding back a growl.

"You mean our cat? At home obviously. He covered quickly but Blaze wasn't swayed. The mention of Rouge made Silver also realize what was up.

"Seriously, what's going on?" Blaze said pointing a finger but quickly retracted it to not raise suspicion.

"Well her favorite spot is usually upstairs" he said conceding and giving them a hint.

Blaze sighed knowing they were stealing from the host. She couldn't even say anything now or risk being affiliated with them. Also what kind friends told on eachother? She had not worries Shadow and Rouge could escape but Amy would have a much harder time. She didn't want to ruin her life over this.

Blaze tried to find a way to ask her next question "How'd you convince Janine to come, I thought she was shy?" meaning why was Amy helping.

Janine answered this time "Because I had nothing going on lately and needed to get out of house" leaning on her date.

Blaze and Silver both looked surprised that Amy of all people was helping with this. She obviously liked Shadow a lot to do this.

"So I guess, she's got a stake in the business now?" Blaze code asked if she was getting a share.

Gerald rolled his eyes, she wanted to know everything and nodded.

"Exactly how much?" she asked.

"20%" he crossed his arms annoyed.

"So little?" Silver asked finally fully caught up.

"She agreed to it, papers are finalized" he shrugged.

Silver and Blaze rolled their eyes and soon they were talking more casually.

Upstairs…

Rouge was still working the lock, every so often she'd hear voices pass by but they didn't come in. She'd heard about three licks in a row before hearing them snap back when she screwed up. She guessed there was four umbers and she was almost done finding the fourth.

Suddenly after probably fiftieth try on this particular number she heard it snap and she cautiously pulled the lever to open it. If she got it wrong then an alarm might go off. Luckily for her she was amazing and the door opened. With some effort she slowly opened the heavy door and panted once it was fully open.

But her eyes dilated seeing what was inside. Stacks, and stack of cash. He she been in a cartoon she'd have dollars signs in her eyes.

She looked back quickly to make sure nobody was there and grabbed the device on her back. Taking the nozzle that was on the side into her hand she said "Hope this is quiet enough" walking inside the vault. She around and counted over $100,000 atleast. But then she saw a few gold bars and smirked "Come to momma"

She flicked the power of the vacuum like device on and chuckled seeing the bars shrink as they were sucked in.

Back downstairs…

Blaze had asked quite a few questions but after the initial ones they were all mostly casual. Silver was in a better mood by now and was smiling again. Janine was back in full character and having fun again.

"Ya so that's how we got our invites in the first place" Silver finished his story.

Janine smiled "Well you obviously made an impression?" slight awkwardness in her voice.

Blaze still didn't like that they were stealing but was having fun again but wanted to apologize "I'm sorry we interrupted your dance. We were just surprised is all to see you here. We hadn't found anyone we really know. It was kinda refreshing"

Gerald just nodded aceepting the apology "So how long did you plan to stay here?"

"Maybe another hour at most" Silver spoke up "We talked to the people we wanted to speak to earlier. Might as well take the free food for a bit"

Blaze just nudged him playfully "That's why you want to stay. I still just want to have a good time and dance too"

Silver groaned "You know I have two left feet"

"I don't care. We spent weeks traveling and I want a nice night out. And none of your ESP will change that" she sternly said.

Silver just sighed but if she really wanted to have some fun he'd do that for her.

"Fine, then let's get that done now" getting up and like a gentleman extended his hand.

She smiled and took it. Both walked to the dance floor and from what the hedgehogs could tell they had a moment just like they almost had.

Shadow was about to suggest they go up there again when his wrist vibrated then chimed.

He silently sighed but looked to his date "Janine, I think it's about time we left"

Her expression seemed to sadden for a moment as well but she knew they had to go. Both hedgehogs got up and walked to the exit, they left without incident as the limo showed up on their way down the steps.

Shadow helped Amy inside then followed and sat down groaning, he could finally be himself again. He quickly took off his tie and undid his chest buttons allowing his fur to poof out.

"Damn I thought we'd never get out of there" he said aloud.

"I thought it was fun while it lasted… until Blaze and Silver showed up" Shadow shrugged but heard Rouge asked "Wait, Blaze and Silver were there?" taking off her hood revealing her face "They didn't make you did they?"

"Unfortunately they did. But they stayed quiet" Shadow reassured.

Rouge sighed "Alright then, we just made it big" She then smirked.

"What's the estimate?" Shadow asked with a smile Amy listening in intently.

"Atleast $100,000 in cash plus several gold bars" the bat beamed with happiness.

Both hedgehogs were surprised by the number, but the gold bars. That just made it even better.

Amy asked not knowing how gold worked for them "But how do we use gold, won't they be on the look out for gold once they find out we stole from them?"

Rouge chuckled but explained "I have a friend who can melt down the gold and sell it for us. What that's been finished I'll have to push the money through several accounts to make the trails hard to follow and soon you can expect your cut in your bank account. I'll get money into Shadow's fake account as well. Only problem is you'll both be getting the full amounts through the course of the month. If a whole bunch of money appears in the account at one time it will raise suspicion"

Amy was pretty sure she understood and said "Ok makes sense"

Rouge then asked "So what'd you two love birds do while I was working?"

Shadow just rolled his eyes "Ate, danced, talked with rich people… the usual Amy played her part very well actually"

Amy blushed and said "You didn't do too bad yourself, handsome" she said honestly finding him quite handsome and polite when he wanted to be.

He nervously said "Ya well you look really good, I saw a few people eyeing you all night" he didn't like that but now that they were gone it felt nice to mention it.

She blushed at his comment again.

Rouge just silently watched smiling. She could tell they liked eachother a lot and despite them being together being a lie, unknown to her, there was definitely something there.

Shadow cleared his throat and asked moving on "So, any complications?" to the bat.

"Well nothing I couldn't handle. Guards were useless like always. The only hard part was the door lock. Getting out was fairly easy and that's when I buzzed you" she explained confident she had gotten away clean.

She then pulled out some wine and three glasses "No, how about some victory drinks!"

They all got a drink and clinked their glasses together "To an amazing job!" Amy cheered maiing the other two chuckle.

Amy was so excited, her heart was beating a mile a minute. It was the most amazing thing she'd ever done… well since the Black hand attacked.

Shadow and Rouge drank with the punk hedgehog and Shadow said "So I guess you are done with this now?" expecting she was only helping them once.

Amy stayed quiet for a minute then smirked with a slight evilness to it "Maybe not"

Both bat and hedgehog looked to the female with surprise.

"God… she just keeps getting sexier and sexier" Shadow thought "Secretly a bad girl"

Rouge smirked "Well we could always use another pretty face in our group" she would gladly accept Amy as a team member if she chose to. She could handle herself. All she needed was some work refining her skills and she'd e a valuable member of her contact list.

Amy smiled excitedly but made no promises yet.

"Soooo what now?' the female asked.

Rouge said "You two can relax. I'll get the gold melted down and sold, wire the money to you over this month and we'll be good"

"Sounds pretty simple" the pink hedgehog shrugged.

They continued to drive home.

Shadow turned to Amy and said "That was surprisingly nicer then I expected. Just wish we had been able to finish our dance"

Amy nodded but shrugged as well "Well we had fun, so that's all that matters to me"

He felt good, he was glad she had a good night. He knew he needed to tell her soon. It was too late now to tell, but he had a plan in his mind. He just needed some help.

The car stopped and Rouge said "Well see you later you two. It would be wise if we stay away from one another for a bit. Course if we pulled this off right then nobody will know it's us anyway"

Both hedgehogs nodded and said their goodbyes and left the car.

The limo drove off and they walked back into the home. Amy stopped him quickly "I had a really good night, like despite what it was actually about it was fun" a sincere smile on her face.

He bowed "it was my pleasure Rose" making her chuckle.

They went inside and noticed the house was dark. The clock said it was 1 in the morning so Vanilla and Cream were asleep.

"Well… better head to bed" he heard Amys voice in the dark.

"Be careful" meaning it was dark and not to trip or stub a toe.

"Could you help me to the stairs?"

"Sure" he said reaching to take her arm but blushed feeling he grabbed something else.

She yelped and he jerked his hand back "Sorry" his blush so bad he felt he was glowing in the dark.

They tried again nervously and succeeded this time and he led her to the stairs. Once there he said "Sorry about that… goodnight"

She stuttered "It's… alright… you too"

They both without knowing it reluctantly parted and Shadow listened to her safely go up the stairs. Upon hearing her doo close softly he got undressed into his pajama bottoms and also went to sleep on the couch like every night.

He thought about tonight. It was so magical, romantic and amazing. He was kinda pissed though, he had been so close to working up the courage to kiss her during that dance until Silver and Blaze appeared. Once again he couldn't hate them for it but he was a bit pissed off.

He smirked thought knowing he had a plan, he'd figure out if he ould make it happen tomorrow though. Right now was time for happy dreams, of him and his rose.

 **Ok so not as long as the other chapters but much more focused. I hoped you liked it and the choices of dresses I chose. I've said this before but I suck at fashion and junk. I generally wear jeans, t-shirt and a hoodie over that. Not that much variation beyond that. So thanks for reading hope you liked it and I hope you continue t enjoy it.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	13. The truth revealed

**A/N So here's next chapter.**

 **So I was expecting to end this soon but as I was at work my brain exploded with ideas. So I have a new plan. It's basically the same as before except how the final conclusion ends up and extends from there. I'll explain what the original idea was once I get there.**

Shadow woke up from his very nice slumber. He sighed since his dreams were magical, wonder full and basically any other adjective that could describe as good. But his plan made him get out of bed cause he knew it would feel even better if it became real.

He looked to the clock and saw it was 10:30 in the morning. Guess their late night made him sleep in.

That meant he couldn't speak with Tails about his idea until later today after school. He looked around and listened for signs of anyone being home.

He heard nothing, smelt no leftover smell from breakfast and saw nobody around. He guessed that Vanilla either didn't make breakfast, unlikely, or she slept in too. He was pretty sure it was the latter since Vanilla always made breakfast.

He also noticed her shoes were at the front door along with Amy's and assumed his Rose was still here too.

He shrugged and made some coffee for himself. He was glad to be out of the tuxedo as he scratched his chest hair. He sighed remembering last night and the short time he and Rose had danced and had fun. Then he daydreamed about his dreams during the night. Unlike normal he could clearly see all of them.

Some of the better ones were when he was just able to hold her and be close to her. Being in her presence was intoxicating, her scent driving him insane. It just added to the jackpot that she was amazing. She was cheerful upbeat, so much so it made him more cheerful. She was beautiful just like the rose she was named after.

His thoughts were interrupted hearing two sets of footsteps getting up and walking downstairs. He thought it was Amy and Vanilla waking at the same time but was surprised.

Freezing in place he said Vanilla and Vector. He stayed the night? He looked them over and Vector wasn't too different but Vanilla looked like a mess. Her fur was fuzzed a bit and he could swear a whisker or two were bent. It didn't look like anything in fact she looked very loosened up and relaxed like she hadn't been that way in years.

He realized what happened and wondered how a rabbit and crocodile could even do that then gagged at the idea of his mother figure having sex.

His gagging caught their pairs attention and both blushed badly. Apparently they had hoped to sneak Vector out of the house without anyone knowing but it failed.

"Uhhh… morning Shadow?" Vanilla said nervously.

He just awkwardly waved "Uhh… hey… guess Amy and I were lucky enough to miss…. You two" trying to be nice but it made both blush harder since he knew.

"Well we just.. I mean we are dating…. And…" the rabbit stuttered.

"Stop! I don't need to know anything. Just… glad you two like eachother that much… I made coffee… feel free to take some… I'm gonna go into the other room" he said already on the move.

He shuddered leaving the room and sat on the couch trying hard not to think about it, but by trying not to think about it he obviously thought about it. He was angry with them; it was great they got along so well. Both of them needed it for sure. They just caught him off guard.

He turned on the TV to watch the news to relieve his mind. The weather report was on. Clear skies today, and overcast tomorrow. "Definitely got to do my plan today then" he said to himself.

He watched a few more minutes but nearly spit up his coffee seeing one story come up.

"Hero's argue over a girl"

"Yes apparently Sonic isn't as nice a guy as we all thought. And maybe Shadow is nicer then we're led to believe. Atleast the blue hedgehog looks like he's feeling remorse so perhaps there's hope for him yet. But listen to Shadows story…"

He groaned scratching into his brows in frustration so hard he thought he'd rip out his fur or bleed. "No…no,no… NO!" he yelled.

"What!?" Vanilla said responding to his shouts.

"Those assholes uploaded that video… it's gone viral. NO NO NO, SHIT!"

He wasn't angry because it revealed his feelings, or that it slandered Sonic or that it made him look soft. No it was because now the whole world knew where he was, that he was in contact with Sonic. Including the government. Years of hiding down the drain wasted because he couldn't hold back his temper.

Vanilla asked again what was wrong and Shadow said growling "Don't worry… I can get out of this right?" the second part to himself.

Vanilla knew this had to be bad with him on the TV. She inferred that his cover was potentially blown and asked "They won't come here, break down doors or something?"

"I truly hope not. My only hope is that they can't find me, I doubt that though. They know I speak to Sonic now and that means I could talk to the rest of my old friends. So they'll search them all… including here. Or, and I'm seriously hoping this is the case, they don't want me for anything and will leave me alone" he explained as the video ran on the screen.

Vanilla listened to his story and said "You really did that for Amy?" touched by his actions, especially since that was over a year ago.

"Yes I did" he said but still had his head in his palms. He was relying completely in luck now.

He started pacing trying to think as the news anchors said "Well wherever you are Shadow, I'm glad you aren't as cold as we all thought"

Vector had heard the whole exchange and was just behind Vanilla watching the dark hedgehog pace.

They heard someone come downstairs. Obviously Amy, she just missed the story but yawned and asked "Why all the yelling" slightly irritated by that.

Shadow sighed and explained everything, which made her pause "Wait so they could come at any time for you? What if they come? What if they catch you?"

"I don't know if they even want to find me. I don't know If they'll come and I don't know what I'll do if they catch me" he said having no answers.

They all stood silently when they heard the doorbell.

Vanilla took it, Shadow hiding from the doors sight.

"Is Shadow there?" a feminine voice asked.

"Yes Rouge, just inside"

Clicking heels came into the house and rounded the corner knowing Shadow was hiding there "So I guess you saw the news?' a worried look on her face.

The dark hedgehog nodded "Yes. This bad. Do you know if GUN or anyone is looking for me?" hoping her connections would have answers.

She shook her head "I may have been an agent but they don't trust me with every bit of info"

Shadow cursed, he was flying blind.

"Maybe that means they aren't looking for him?" Amy asked hopefully.

"I doubt it, if they were looking for him and I know, a known friend of him, that'd be like giving info to the enemy" Rouge explained making Amy frown.

"It's going to be alright. I won't let them hurt you or anyone" he growled but gave a reassuring look to his pink rose. It was enough to make her weakly smile back.

"Try to get in contact with Omega. I bet he'll know something" he tapped his chin in thought.

The bat nodded and said "I'll talk to you later. I'll hit up all my contacts and see if I make any sense of things"

"I doubt you will but thanks" Shadow nodded and the bat left and took off quickly.

Shadow wanted to complete his plan but he was on a possible limited time limit. He got dressed and said as he left "If anyone asks where I am and you don't know them, say you haven't seen me"

He got on his bike but before driving off he text Tails.

"Tails I need a fvour, quickly. Meet me out front of your school. I have a question to ask"

he didn't wait for the fox to respond and drove off. He kept his hood on incase he passed any cameras.

At the school he saw the teen waiting. He sighed glad Tails was being cooperative.

He got off his bike and said "Thanks, I need to ask a big favour that needs to be done today" his voice slightly begging even though he hadn't meant to.

The young fox nodded "Of course. But first, you saw the news"

Shadow nodded "That's why I need to get this done today. They could be after me right now"

Tails nodded "Shoot"

Shadow too a deep sighed and said "Amy and I are not actually dating" he had to tell Tails this for it all to make sense.

The fox asked surprised not expecting that at all "What!?"

"You heard me…" he then continued and explained how he made the pan to make Sonic jealous. How Amy stopped it and then explained the final part "Problem is… I feel for her for real now"

Tails wasn't sure how to react to the whole plan. It seemed so…. Not him. But was glad it stopped before it really had a chance to go anywhere. He could tell awhile ago Shadow liked Amy a lot.

"Ok so what do you need?"

Shadow took another deep breath "I need your help to ask. I need something, grand. Huge. Something to show her I'm willing to show the entire world how I feel about her. Even worse now that the video is out"

"Ok… but do you have an idea?" Tails asked again.

Shadow smirked and started to explain his plan….

Hours later, just past 3:30pm…

Shadow had convinced Amy to come with him to the park for a walk. Besides him leaving to speak with Tails he had stayed in the house all day. She was worried they might get attacked out there but he calmed her down.

"Shadow I still don't think we should be out here" Amy said quietly walking next to him.

"I promise we'll be fine" although he couldn't speak for after he made his big move.

Shadow then asked "So can you something?"

She looked up curious of what he had to ask "Is there anything you want? Like that you wouldn't want anyone to know?"

She shrugged having no idea since it was such an on the spot question "I…. just want you to be safe"

He smiled, she cared for him obviously "Everything will be fine" he reassured.

His reassurance really helped her as they walked through the park in silence. Shadow broke it "This is really off topic but have you gotten over Sonic? Like entirely?"

She was caught off guard by that question, why was he asking such awkward questions? "I'd say so" she saw him nod and smile confusing her a bit. He even had a slight bounce in his step for a few seconds.

She heard the sound of a plane engine though didn't really bother to think about it but heard Shadow say "Hey isn't that Tail's plane?"

She looked up actually interested in the sound now. It was indeed his plane. The first one "Guess he's having a bit of a nostalgia flight"

"Maybe" he said with a hint of mischief.

Her eyes darted to him for half a second then back at the plane. What was happening? Something was happening. He stopped and continued to watch Tails. Why was he flying so low? Why here?

She saw the plane to start to leave behind smoke behind.

Amy gasped thinking something bad was happening but Shadow stayed perfectly calm. Hell he felt overly quiet. Something was happening.

Looking back up at Tails she noticed he started flying around in specific patterns.

She he was skywriting. Maybe he was writing to Cream. Shadow had mentioned that he spoke to him about a gift for her. Maybe that's why he was just standing there watching.

But after another few seconds she saw the first word was "Amy"

She gasped it was to her name? What was happening? Who was speaking to her…Was it Sonic, Shadow did just ask if she was over him. If it was him she didn't want it to be. She liked the way things were now. She was happier this way.

She waited for what felt like forever, every word aggravatingly slowly written.

By now it said "Amy I love you" Tails plane flying below the first line, to presumably write the final word which would be the name.

Her heart was beating a mile a minute, so hard it felt like it was gonna beat out her chest. Who was doing this?

Then she saw the first letter was an "S"

"No it is Sonic, why would he go through all the effort to explain to me he wanted to be friends then do this?

But her heart skipped a beat, the next letter wasn't "I" as she expected. It was "h"

She almost verbally asked "Wait, what?"

A new feeling entered her chest, much more pleasant, hopeful and excited. Her mind calmed all still flashed through more specific images.

She watched Tails finish off the name, the first word dissipating in the wind.

"Shadow"

She felt someone grab her right hand gently making her look that way. Her eyes met the most beautiful ruby eyes she'd ever seen; they could only belong to one person.

But she felt doubt.

"Rose… I love you" He said. His voice was so soft, filled with emotion and joy, but a hint of fear was also hidden deep in it.

"Nobody has… ever done something like… like"

"Like this for you" he completed her sentence.

She nodded and doubt filled her mind. Not because she didn't feel the same way but for another reason.

"….So…" he wanted to hear her answer, every second she didn't answer worrying him more.

Surprising both of them the pink hedgehog frowned and said "You are immortal…"

He froze "Ya… so?"

"…. And…. I'm not"

His eyes locked onto her but he clearly was staring through her now. Why hadn't he thought of that? She was right, he'd outlive her. She wouldn't grow old with him, she'd grow old next to him. It didn't feel fair now that he thought of it.

He with heavy reluctance his hand let go of hers "You're right… it's not right"

Both hedgehogs were surprised by his answer.

She didn't deserve to have a partner that stayed the same age. Constantly in fear that'd he leave her for younger woman. She deserved someone she wouldn't have to be afraid over all the time. She should grow old happily with someone.

She had said it and his mind just exploded, all the work he'd done to get to this point all destroyed by one simple fact that he couldn't change.

His heart ached in pain and sadness. He didn't want to hurt her or make life harder. He wanted her to be happy and if that meant being someone who she could spend a life with, not be a chapter in an endless story, he'd go away.

"I'm… I'm sorry" he took a step away, his voice emotionless but his eyes were sad and empty now.

"Hey but…"

"No… you're right. Just… forget about it"

She was about to protest when they heard a metallic step.

Both looked to the right and to their utter amazement it was Omega.

"Omega?" Shadow breathed out.

"Greetings Shadow the hedgehog" his monotone voice was as monotone as ever.

"I've been looking or you" the dark hedgehog walked to him a bit.

"So have I" Omega quickly shit back making Shadow stop mid step.

He had a good idea what they truly meant but asked "What?"

"I must bring you in" he quickly got to the point.

Shadows eyes went to an angry scowl "GUN sent you" he slightly moved to be in between him and Amy.

"Affirmative"

Shadow growled "You won't get me without a fight"

Omega paused for a moment but said "Then I have a message for you"

Once again Shadow shot the robot a questioning glance filled with confusion.

"GUN told me to bring you in peacefully. If you resisted I was to give you a message" he explained.

"Ok then?" still in a defensive stance.

"GUN is giving you two choices. Come with me peacefully, or do it the hard way" the end of his sentence having a heavier tone.

Shadow knew exactly what he meant and asked "Will you be apart of that?'

"Unconfirmed" was all he could say.

"Why do they want me" Shadow asked, the big question had been on his mind for years.

"They would not tell me" his optics staying at him the entire time.

Shadow had a feeling he wasn't lying. "Tell them, how can I trust them if they won't tell me what they want me for" understandable question.

"I will relay your question… Watch your back" Omega said before walking away.

Atleast he seemed to care.

Amy was about to ask what was happening but Shadow said "Go home"

"But I"

"Go, home" he said sternly. He partially wanted her safe but also wanted her gone. He didn't want to be around her right now, which was really bad. Personally he felt like just leaving them all behind now heartbroken.

Her ears dropped but did as he asked and went home. His fist clenched in rage, fear, hate and heartbreak. He went to a tree and climbed up.

Once there he looked out at the city and beyond. He wasn't actually looking at all that, he zoned out.

""How could I be so stupiud? How could I believe I could be normal?" he sighed.

"I'm the ultimate life form… immortal. Why should I get close to anyone? When they'd just die? He'd be left alone again.

His chest hurt at the pain of realizing he couldn't be with Amy. It hurt even more to think that everyone he knew would die and he'd continue on.

"Things were so much easier before I moved in. I didn't care about people, I wasn't attached to them, to anyone" he didn't feel like he could handle that.

But his mind kept going back to realization he'd outlive Amy. He felt something going down his cheek. He wiped at it and felt his hand wet "What is this…. A tear?" he'd never cried once in his life. It felt weird, made him feel weak.

But he couldn't stop them. He may not have liked to admit it but he hated being an outcast. He wanted to be somewhat normal, to have friends. That wouldn't happen now. He felt like it would be simpler to just stay alone.

He cried by himself in that tree for about half an hour until he heard a voice "Shadow?"

He could tell from the sound of it that it was Tails.

"Go away" he quickly composed himself.

"What happened?" he asked although the reaction he could see told him the answer.

"I said leave Tails"

Tails could feel the rage in his voice but stood his ground "Come on, talk to me. What happened?"

Shadow hopped down anger in his eyes and with enough force to make the little fox stumble back poked his chest "Leave right now before I make you leave" his tone a deep growl.

Tails had genuine fear in his eyes "Shadow please, you don't have to be angry. Just talk to me?"

"Ok, here is comes. Screw off and leave e alone"

The little fox looked down and with every bit of courage said "What'd she say?"

"She realized it wouldn't work. Then I realized none of this will work. I'll live forever. It will only hurt me and more importantly her"

"What no you can't just give up.."

"GO AWAY!" he yelled staring down at the fox with indescribable anger.

The fox cowered taking a step back suddenly sniffing in fear about to cry "Please Shadow, stop" he begged.

"All you got to do is go away and I will" he stated like it was obvious.

"But then I'll never see you again" he could tell what was happening. And he didn't want him gone. He'd grown kinda attached to Shadow. He'd helped him out and he thought he was like an older brother that was more mature then Sonic.

"Ya and in the end it will be for the better. I was lying to myself. How could I ever be normal and happy. I'm alien to everyone and everything on this planet!"

"No you aren't, you are our friends!"

"Go away Tails, NOW!" he yelled suddenly pushing him away.

It was harder then even Shadow wanted to and Tails gripped his chest in pain tears streaming down his eyes now "S-shadow… please think about this" he panted.

"Now, LEAVE!" he truly didn't want to hurt the boy anymore then he already had.

"FINE! Run away from your problems. You coward!" Tails yelled in sadness and anger. He felt like he was being abandoned.

Shadow didn't flinch he just stared at the fox until he finally walked away crying and holding his chest. He thought he was doing the right thing. For himself and them all. He was a danger to them all and he didn't want to feel this pain ever again.

He was now being hunted and they thought it was safe to be around him.

When the fox was gone he turned and walked away. He really wanted to hit something right now.

Hours later…

Shadow was in his old neighborhood, still the shitty place it always was. He wanted to be here. Where he belonged, alone and away from everyone. He didn't know what Tails had done after he left and he ignored all the text he'd been sent by turning his phone off.

Over the last few hours he'd continued to strengthen that he should be alone. He was a detriment to everyone he knew whether they knew it or not.

His mind was stopped when he heard something in front of him.

Floating in front of him was a a device not too unlike the device Eggman used to communicate with him during the Black arms attack. Although it wasn't Eggman. It was The General.

"So it begins' he thought waiting for the general to speak.

As his arms crossed the man spoke "Shadow the hedgehog" he saluted surprising the hedgehog.

"Before we get this started I just want to tell you that I forgive you for what you've done and take back what I've said that wasn't true… which is why what I'm about to ask is so hard"

"What does GUN want with me?" Shadow asked.

The general sighed "Omega told us you wanted to know. I would have expected as much" he sighed "The scientists want you for your genetics. You are immune to all disease and they hope to harness it for themselves to benefit humanity?"

Shadow confusingly asked finally having an answer after all these years "Then why threaten me with Omega. Why try to use a friendly face to convince me? Why not just ask for some blood and be done with it?"

"That's why this is so hard for me to ask you Shadow… They need all of you to make it work, not just work.

Shadow scowled staying silent but growled "I wouldn't have helped anyway, this just adds to the list of reasons I won't help you. I'm not gonna endure torture and probably death by dissection for you. I'm charged with protecting humans"

The general said trying to convince him "But it would help humanity, imagine if nobody in the world could be killed by disease ever again?"

The dark hedgehog just laughed at him "Do you really think I believe you when you say that? What have almost every discovery in history been adapted for, war. You'd use my blood to enhance soldiers and make them immune to bio attacks. Smart strategy, just drop a bio bomb on somewhere then send in your troops who couldn't be harmed by it" he made a wild guess o how they could use it "How would giving you that ability be beneficial to your race?"

The general didn't want to hear that "Shadow please. You are a hero, and I don't want to bring you in…"

Shadow interrupted "Then don't. If you respect me so much then say fuck you to orders"

"I can't. Just come in quietly Shadow, or things will get ugly" he warned trying his best to convince him.

Behind the monitor Omega slowly floated down from the sky his back thruster floating him to the ground and landed.

Shadow looked past the General at the robot he called friend "So I guess they called you in. Not that I blame them. You were designed to stop me" he was ready for the robot to completely forget all they'd been through and take him down.

"Please go with the general"

"I didn't know you cared Omega? Obviously not enough to refuse their offer though" he crossed his arms feeling a bit betrayed.

"This is your last chance" the General said grimly.

Shadow huffed, not like he had much t live for anyway "Bring it. We'll find finally find out who is the ultimate" pointing to Omega challenging him to one final fight. The ultimate life form vs the ultimate machine.

Omega stayed quiet, neither of them spoke.

Shadow was about to reply when he felt something his him hard in his lower side. He stumbled forward from the force and half a second later heard a crack in the air like a gunshot.

He looked down where his hand was now. Lifting it away he saw a whole clean through his body, bleeding on his hand.

He shuddered feeling light headed and his eye sight fuzz up.

He then looked out to Omega and the general realizing they were distractions and that they'd shot him from behind.

"You… cowards… couldn't… face me" he hissed out in rage.

His legs shook having a hard time taking his weight.

He started to think "This is the end… didn't even die fighting… but I died alone… like I was destined to. Nobody by my side… good" he fell over to his knees having a hard time breathing.

He could remember everything that happened recently, the happiest time of his life. But now he was going away forever.

His vision blurred more hearing footsteps approaching. He could vaguely here the general say "Patch him up, the doctors want him alive if possible"

He gritted his teeth and forced himself to his feet hearing. They weren't taking him alive. It was so hard to stand but it made them all back away.

"Stay away from me" he grunted out almost losing his balance, if he fell over now he'd never be able to get up again.

All he had left was defiance, to fight as long as he could until he bled out.

He couldn't hold himself up much longer, close to the end now. His hands were numb, he felt cold. His whole body shuddered in weakness.

Flashes of Amy went through his mind. Regret heavy in his mind, thinking of what could have been.

A tear escaped his eye feeling himself drop to one knee holding his wound now.

Everything was going black. He was finished; he had nothing left nothing to live for. All his life culminated to be being betrayed by the humans again.

Just as he was about to fall and flash of pink came from nowhere "Get away!" whatever it was it destroyed the screen the general was on instantly smashing it away down the street.

Then he saw a blur of blue fly by knocking several soldiers over.

He didn't see it but behind him the sniper that shot him behind was being thrown off a building.

Omega seemed to disappear running from the blurs attacking.

Whatever they were he was gonna take it. With new found adrenaline his eyes un-blurred enough and he got up clenching his wound. Pain wracked his body but he didn't care.

He felt something start to support him "We need to get out of here?" the voice was familiar.

A female voice asked "Is he alright!?"

"We need to get him to a hospital soon that's for sure" the first voice answered back.

"Wait what's that?"

He couldn't see but he heard helicopter rotors.

Shadow managed to look up at the blurry sky. Indeed he saw blurs shaped like helicopter approaching.

"We can't fight those things" he heard a third deeper vice say, also familiar like the other two. His mind was too weak to think of the names.

"We got air support though"

He looked up and saw green glows around the nearest helicopter. From what he could tell he saw the pilot get thrown out then the helicopter was crushed down to a scrap ball and dropped.

The same fate was on ready for the other two in quick succession.

"Ok let's go!" the voice said but stopped as a black and red blur appeared in front of them.

It looked familiar and remembered it was Omega.

"Get out of the way Omega!' the third voice yelled.

There was no reply but finally the robot spoke "Priority, protect Shadow the hedgehog" apparently he had a change of hardrive.

He sighed in relief, the robot actually cared, seeing him slide past them and he heard hear bullets flying.

"Hurry, he's dying!' the female voice yelled.

"I got it!" the first male voice said and Shadow feel himself on the move.

Everything was happening so fast. He could hardly tell what was happening. He tried to think, the whole supporting him… was blue… Sonic… yes Sonic. The other voice sounded familiar, sounded like Knuckles. The female… pink… oh god pink it was Amy!

What were they doing here? Risk their lives for him?

He felt his savior stop and gasped "Oh crap" he heard him curse.

Shadow managed to lift his head and saw soldiers in front of them.

He heard knuckles say "We're surrounded!"

Sonic couldn't even escape this, especially with a passenger. Even if he got luck his friends would be left behind. Their air support which Shadow had come to the conclusion was Silver was too busy with more helicopters to help.

Shadow looked to his friends. They truly cared for him? It confused him. But he knew he needed to do something. But what?

He felt the power of a chaos emerald, he saw the soft green glow in Sonic pocket. He quickly figured out what he could do before he bled to death.

He slowly reached for it and once he had it he pushed Sonic away stepping forward. All his adrenaline going into keeping him standing.

He focused hard and felt himself calling upon all the power of the emerald.

"Shadow stop, you'll die!' he heard Sonic yell.

He ignored him though and heard fire open upon him. Like during the Black arm invasion he felt them just ping off as the power coursed through his veins. He panted and thought of his friends, they cared about him enough to help him like this. He needed to repay the favour.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

he stayed in place but all of his friends disappeared away, Sonic, Amy, Knuckles, Silver and Omega. All of them disappeared teleporting far away.

He wasn't done, he called upon the emerald again with rage, he thought of the humans, they betrayed him again, hate filled his mind.

"CHAOS BLAST!"

he felt all the energy release from his body showing everything around him with destruction. It was the most powerful explosion he'd ever done, destroying everything. Anyone not inside a building was disintegrated instantly, any helicopter nearby was vaporized In a few seconds he had completely destroyed every soldier that was apart of the operation. He had somehow made it possible to keep anyone in the buildings to live though.

All the energy was gone and he floated to the ground to his knees. He could hardly breathe; all the adrenaline was gone from his body. He was so tired now. The emerald slipped from his hand bouncing off the ground.

His body leaned forward so weak. He just feel over now laying on the ground bleeding on the floor.

Now he felt like he could die. He saved his friends and died fighting.

His final thoughts were of Amy again. He didn't resent her. He regretted his choice to walk away and let her go. Tails was right, he'd run from his problems. He was scared and ran away.

He wanted to make things right but there was no time now. He could see the light now. He could see Maria waiting for him. Atleast he'd have company.

 **I want to go on with this but ending the chapter seems right. It would kinda weird to continue from here.**

 **So incase you were wondering THIS ISN'T THE END!**

 **To be totally honest this wasn't my final game plan a few days ago but I during work my mind was exploding with ideas. Basically the way it was supposed to end was that Shadow wouldn't be mortally wounded during the fight and get away. Now I have a plan to make everyone closer. To truly show everyone cares for him and that all of this is getting them all closer together. So wait, I promise there's more.**

 **Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	14. Back in black

**A/N See told you there'd be another chapter. Anyway I know what you're thinking, Shadow died! How can that mean it will continue. Well shut up and sit back and relax cause the heart warming stuff is coming.**

 **Also I know the last chapter may have felt fast. Like the entire thing, especially the fight. I did that all on purpose to make the chapter feel like we were out of time and that everything was going incredibly fast. SO if you didn't like it that was my reasoning.**

 **Also I'm sorry it took longer for this chapter to come out(not like getting out one a day isn't fast enough) but I was getting strained by getting a chapter out basically once a day. I sort of wanted to play some games that I haven't played in awhile. I got a bit nostalgic and played some crash, then I finally found some time to play with some friends on a few games. Plus I got SUPER tired from work and passed out on the couch.**

Shadow was having a wonderful day, he was hanging out with Maria on the grass. They were currently having a picnic. He'd had fun with Maria for a long time. He didn't even know how long it had been anyway. It felt like a blur.

His human friend was older now, though she still carried her innocent look like always. Ever since he got here he spent nearly everyday with her it was paradise. Although today she seemed quieter then normal.

"You are acting a bit strange is something?" he asked looking to her with a worried expression.

Her blue eyes looked up at him and smiled "No, it's alright" her soft voice had matured over the years now a young woman.

"Then why are you acting strange?"

"Because this is all about to come to an end" she frowned.

"What?" he asked confused.

"I'm sorry Shadow but you have to go now before it's too late"

"Too late for what?" he asked feeling different. He looked around the park they were in had become just a blank white plain.

"What happened?"

Maria was still smiling "As I said, it's time for you to leave and get back"

"What do you mean!?" he shouted desperately seeing her start to float away. His feet refused to move and he reached out in vain to catch her "Don't leave me!"

She chuckled "Don't worry Shadow, we'll see eachother again. Now enjoy your life"

He felt faint and the world got fuzzy, he felt dizzy and his eyes closed leaving him darkness.

Then he saw the light again, it blinded him but he couldn't move his arms to protect his vision. So he closed his eyes and kept testing his vision until his eyes adjusted.

He felt so tired and weak and numb all over. He looked around and found himself inside a room. He couldn't look around to much due to his weakness but from what he could see and hear he was in a hospital room.

He was all alone at the moment so he tried to think.

He was with Maria a minute ago, now he was in a hospital room. What the hell happened?

His mind went in circles until he heard footsteps come in. It was a nurse, she was a dog, looked like a golden retriever. She was looking at a clip board so didn't notice he was awake and checked the machine next to him. She was attractive woman, her fur nice and shiny, her tail had long fur like most of her species. Her eyes were blue and had a pretty face. Lastly and because she was in a nurse outfit it was more apparent, she was very curvy. Her neck had a sky blue collar with a small tag hanging off it with a maple leaf on it, on the other side as it bounced with her step he vaguely saw an "A" on it.

"Ah Mr. Shadow, how are we doing today?" she spoke to herself but he with great difficulty said "Fine"

She gasped jumping back and looked to him "Oh my god you're awake!?"

He had no idea how to respond and just asked "Where am I?"

The female took a deep breath "You are in Westopolis hospital. How do I explain this… ummm… you've been in a coma"

He froze, the first question entering his mind "H-how long!?"

The golden retriever hesitantly said "Two years"

"Two years…." He asked. No wonder he was so weak, he hadn't moved in two years. He suddenly remembered "Where are my friends?"

"I think one will be here soon, you woke up just before visiting time" the female smiled hoping he'd like that.

He would have nodded but said "Ok… how'd I get here?' he asked needing answers.

The female quietly said "Wait until your friend arrives"

He sighed but accepted that.

The nurse kept him company during the wait, which was another fifteen minutes. They hardly spoke besides him asking her her name.

"I'm Chloe, I've been tending to you for all two years" she smiled kindly.

"Well thank you Chloe"

They heard more footsteps walk in and both looked to see a fox. It was Tails, he was taller then last he saw him. Almost matching his own height now. He looked far more mature. He was wearing a red t-shirt with blue jeans. He was also carrying a book with a book mark about a quarter of the way through the book.

"Oh hey Chloe" he said surprised to see the nurse there, his voice was deeper now. Usually she was gone by now and he could stay here by himself.

"Hello Tails, reading to Shadow again. I'm sure he'd enjoy hearing your voice" she smiled hinting.

He obviously didn't catch the hint and nodded walking to his normal chair beside the bed.

Shadow watched the fox amused that he still hadn't noticed he was awake. Apparently he did this sometimes so he was probably was just in a rhythm now.

He was confused though Last he saw of the two tailed fox he had yelled and pushed him. He made him cry and essentially abandoned the poor boy. Now he was here visiting him consistently in his sleep. He felt like an asshole for treating the fox so badly.

He finally felt some feeling in his body, the warm feeling that the fox cared about him that much.

He looked over at Chloe who was trying hard not to speak of give away Shadows being awake.

He then looked to the fox again as he was about to start reading, the book was one he didn't know. It didn't matter he finally managed to speak "Hey bud"

The foxes ears flicked freezing hearing the voice he hadn't heard in almost 2 years.

His eyes looked to the hedgehog and took a very slow gasp trying to get his bearings. The hedgehog that had been asleep for so long finally had his eyes open and speaking.

"Shadow?" he asked stunned trying to figure out if it was his imagination.

Shadow smiled warmly back at the fox "What do I have something on my face" he managed to joke.

Tails chuckled "You're awake… wait… YOU'RE AWAKE!" he yelled happily hurting Shadows ears.

Chloe laughed "It's about time you noticed. He only woke about twenty minutes ago"

"Oh my god. You are awake, it's a miracle!"

That confused the hedgehog, how was it a miracle. Sure waking from a coma was a happy thing but a miracle? Was he in a coma that was expected to last forever?

"I've been coming here for almost two years, just talking to you and reading to you. I mean others have too but I came the most, I hoped my voice would wake you up. This was my last ditch effort to wake you up because…" he suddenly went quiet frowning and looking away.

Shadow was surprised by his sudden stop and looked to the golden retriever. She too was looking away awkwardly.

"What?' he asked looking between them.

Tails sighed "Well… I know you just woke up but… this… this was the last day before…" he couldn't finish.

Shadow got worried and waited for the fox to finally finish the suspense killing him.

"Shadow… none of us wanted to do it but keep you alive was eating into our money…. Tomorrow was the day we were gonna… pull the plug" he felt horrible. Like he said none of their friends wanted to give up but they just couldn't afford it anymore.

The shock that he was one day away from dying in his sleep confused and shocked him.

"But, no worries now we can all rest easy now because you are awake. Thank god" he sighed heavily. He obviously didn't want to have t come down to that.

Shadow barely heard him and remembered Marias last few words. She said something about having to leave before it was too late. She must have known the day was coming and woke him up. He owed her his life twice now.

"Thank you Maria" he whispered.

"What?' Tails asked not hearing well.

"Nothing' he said.

Tails took a deep breath "Wait until everyone else hears about this" he smiled pulling out his phone to call everyone "I'll be back in a sec" he got up to talk outside.

Shadow didn't care that he had been so close to death. He was sure that Maria woke him up and had full control. Everything had been under control so he didn't have a feeling of closeness to death.

While Tails was gone Chloe approached again and said "he comes all the time and reads to you. Sometimes he talks about his life. I could tell he really missed you"

Shadow smiled "Does anyone else visit"

"Of course, a woman, a bat visits sometimes. More recently with a an echidna too" that news made Shadow smile, perhaps their plan with Knuckles and Rouge had worked out, atleast enough to make them friends.

"Oh and sometimes Tails came in with his girlfriend. There was another rabbit I think is his girlfriend's mom along with a crocodile.

He smiled hearing the entire family visited him… except "Any pink hedgehogs?" he asked hesitantly.

"Occasionally, not as often as everyone else. I think she didn't like seeing you like you were" Chloe said feeling he specifically asked of her because she was important to him.

"Anyone else?"

"A blue hedgehog, Sonic the hedgehog, he stops by" he smiled at that too. He noticed her blush a bit at the mention of the blue blurs name making him curious but she continued before he could think about it too hard.

"A silver hedgehog and purple cat come in whenever they have the time. They are actually the ones paying most of your bills since they own a good business"

Shadow felt a bit guilty that Blaze and Silver had been supporting him for years. He would make it up to them once he could get to a bank and pay off his debt to them.

"Occasionally a chameleon, bee, and two other Hedgehogs comes but not as often" she finally finished.

"That sounds like all of them" Shadow smiled.

Chloe gave a smile over to him "Just gonna say, you are are gonna have to go through physiotherapy"

Shadow had no doubts about that. He was totally paralyzed right now and would need to get his muscles working again "Hmmm, well if I have a pretty letting holding my body, it won't be that hard" he said. He flirted making her giggle. He meant nothing by it, just to clear the air.

"Thank you, we'll try to make it fun for you as much we can" she smiled.

With that they waited and Tails came back into the room "Ok everyone is coming"

Shadow smiled at the fox, he still couldn't get over how old the fox looked. Last he saw he was a shortish teenager. Now he was near average size. He looked stronger and carried more confidence then before.

Chloe said "I'll be back, I got other patients I really need to check on" leaving the two males alone.

Tails sat back down and Shadow decided to ask "So, you know where I've been these last two years. Where have you been?"

The fox tried t think. What had he done in the last two years? "Well I finished school. I was one of the best students they ever had. I've got grants already for research I'm doing" he smiled.

Shadow smiled "Good for you. How are you and Cream?"

Tails scratched his head nervously blushing "Well… we're still together… and umm… we got… intimate awhile back… just don't tell Vanilla ok?"

Shadow managed a weak chuckle "Wait you actually went for it?" he also found it amusing that he was afraid of Vanilla.

"Ya… it was kinda birthday present"

The hedgehog knew it was embarrassing so moved on and finally asked "What happened… I mean… everything was a blur… I thought I died?"

The fox frowned looking away "Ya well… let me explain before everyone comes here"

Two years ago…

Tails cried all the way home and also when he entered the house prompting Sonic, who was home, to ask "Tails, what happened are you ok?"

Tails sadly recounted hi story and said "I think he's scared. He's thinking too hard and I think e's gonna run away"

Sonic took a deep breath understanding what he was saying. Shadow obviously wasn't used too all these new feelings and it was making him think wrong, or over think things. He was jumping to conclusions and it was going to make them all lose him forever.

"We need to go and find him" he already had his phone out and called everyone he could. He soon called Blaze and Silver, Vanilla, Knuckles, the Chaotix, Rouge and also tried to call Shadow but his phone was off.

Everyone was there within in half an hour.

Besides who he called Amy was there now too.

"He's gone!? We need to find him" she pleaded everyone already in agreement with that.

Vector said "We need to split up"

Sonic started calling names "Ok, Knuckles, Amy and Silver, are with me. Blaze, you go with Charmy, Espio, Vector and Rouge. Vanilla stay home, incase he comes for his stuff"

The rabbit nodded.

Tails then said "No better idea, I'll get into the Tornado, I got scanners that still have programming for Black Arm forces. If he has Black Dooms blood then I could find him. Perhaps not considering it's half alien blood"

Sonic nodded to that, "ok, go hurry"

Tails was about to head downstairs to his lab but Cream hopped over "I'm going with you, there's two seats. I want to help too" she wasn't gonna take no for answer so the fox nodded and led her downstairs. But then the fox ran back up and said "Blaze, Sonic you take these communicators so I can stay in touch ok?"

Both the cat and hedgehog too them and placed it into their ears.

"Ok, everyone move out" Sonic said.

"Wait!" Amy yelled and rushed for Shadows things. She reached inside and pulled out the green chaos emerald. Vanilla wasn't surprised like everyone else that it was in there since Shadow had telerported her home before with it.

"If we keep this it may be a reason for him to stay" it was far to valuable for him to just leave behind, so if he found it gone from his stuff he might stick around to get it back.

"Good idea" Sonic smiled and took it placing it in his pocket "Ok, now let's move"

As the left the Tornado shot up from the backyard of Sonics house and fired off into the sky it's loud jet engines dissipating as it flew away.

Sonics team went left and Blazes went right.

Tails flew off wherever he could activating his scanner. He tried to adjust it to see if he could more accurately track Shadows half blood but he couldn't change it that much.

"Do you think we'll find him?" he heard Cream ask.

Tails sighed pausing "I don't know, he could be miles away by now. Outside the city. He can start a new life if he needed to.

He couldn't see it but she frowned because of what he said but knew she was "I will try my best to find him, you got me?"

"I got you" he heard her say.

Tails turned on the coms "So anyone have an idea of where he could have gone?"

Rouge spoke "If he hasn't visited Vanillas' place then he could be anywhere. I'd like to say I know but I don't"

The answer held in everyone's mind. Guess they'd have to search the old fashion way.

Minutes before GUN contacts Shadow…

Tails growled in frustration he'd scanned almost the entire city with the focused tracker. Any lower and he risked missing Shadow but he still hadn't found him. He was either out of the city or really lucky, or was actively avoiding him.

Cream was looking at other scanners, Tails set up screens back there for a co pilot to watch. Her brow furrowed and said "Hey Tails, radar is picking up something. Multiple helicopters"

"Helicopters… where?"

"Heading towards the crummy side of town….3d scans say it's GUN helicopters" Cream said knowing that wasn't normal.

"GUN helicopters, where are they heading?" Tails asked, Shadow was worried about them wanting to get him and if they were mobilizing it was worth the look.

"To the bad side of town" the rabbit replied coming to the same conclusion as him.

Tails got on the com again "Sonic, get back to the bad districts. We've got GUN helicopters mobilizing; we're heading that way too"

"We're on it Tails, be there in a flash"

Tail flew that way higher then the GUN transports and started scanning what they were up to. Man tight roped down and started converging to relatively the same space. As he followed where they were heading it looked head and finally got the reading he'd been waiting for.

Cream exclaimed "Tails, there he is! They are after him!"

"Sonic, they are definitely after Shadow, hurry!"

On the ground…

"Alright then, everyone we got move!" as he picked up pace to the fastest he could go that they could keep up with.

Behind Amy and Knuckles were just barely keeping pace while Silver kept up fine due to him being able to fly.

Amy growled "If they hurt him…"

"Don't worry Ames, they'll regret it" Knuckles added on.

Sonic felt the same way but they needed to get there first.

Suddenly they all heard a snap of a rifle, then heard some shouts that sounded like "Secure the asset!"

Sonic came to a sliding stop. Down the street to his left he saw Shadow. He was surrounded by five GUN soldiers, two that had medic patches on their shoulders, past them was a floating monitor with the General on the screen and… "Omega?"

They couldn't focus on the robot as they could clearly see Shadow slouching and holding his side. He looked weak already. Everyone noticed the blood dripping down his side and Amy gasped.

"NO!" nobody was expecting her to burst forward piko hammer in hand rushing towards the soldiers.

Sonic rushed after her knowing she'd need help.

Knuckles noticed someone stand up on the rook to his right, it was a sniper. He must have been the one who shot. "You aren't getting away that easily" he clenched his fist and ran for the roof and started to climb up to him.

Silver remembered the helicopters and knew he'd have to watch out for those and flew into the air.

Amy reached the group fly past the soldiers and smashed the monitor "GET AWAY!" she screeched smashing the monitor sending it flying down the street.

Omega made surprised chirp noises and slid away using his thruster pack. Behind Amy Sonic bounced from soldier to soldier knocking them out in succession before they could attack Amy.

Sonic then went to Shadow who was standing up again, he couldn't stand by himself. His blood had dripped to the floor a bit and all down his side.

"We have to get out of here" he said starting to support his dark counterpart.

Amy turned panting having never ran that fast before "Is he alright?"

Sonic could barely hold up his weight but said "We need to get him to a hospital soon, that's for sure"

He turned and saw Knuckles throwing a man from the top of a building, guessed it was the sniper who shot Shadow.

His ears twitched hearing helicopter rotors approaching.

Amy looked around "What's that?"

Sonic finally saw the Helicopters approaching just over a building. Knuckles made it to them seeing the approaching aircraft "We can't fight those things"

Sonic smirked, "We got Air support"

Indeed above they saw Silver fly to the closest of the three approaching heli's. His hands glowed green making the first helicopter glow as well.

The cockpit was violently ripped off and then the pilot. Silver placed the man on a building then crushed the aircraft into a metal ball. He proceeded to do that all over again with the next.

As he started manipulating the second the third turned and fired at him trying to save it's comrade.

Just in time Silver brought up a psi shield then pushed back at the aircraft violently like a shockwave taking it down instantly. He followed that be proceeding to destroy the final helicopter.

"Ok, let's go" Sonic said about to take off when suddenly Omega slid in front of them.

Knuckles growled clenching his fists and yelled "Get out of the way Omega!"

The robots blank eyes stared at them for what felt like forever "Priority, protect Shadow the hedgehog" it surprised everyone and apparently Shadow heard it too since he made a weak sigh. Omega slid past them deploying his guns. Behind them they could already hear him firing off bullets to soldiers coming from behind.

Above Silver was still deflecting any aircraft that came close. Tail's Tornado had joined the fray.

"Hurry, he's dying!" Amy said getting everyone back into the moment.

Sonic nodded "I got it" and ran forward as fast as he could while still comfortably holding Shadow. He turned a corner but slid to a stop "Oh crap" in front of them was about twenty GUN soldiers.

He couldn't see a way out. If he ran back he'd be gunned down, if he tried to escape with a daring trick he'd either be gunned down or they'd open fire and take down Knuckles and Amy. He no choice but to stop and wait, something he didn't have time for.

"We're surrounded" Knuckles said pointing out the few soldiers on the roofs to their right and left.

Sonic panted then felt something slip into his pocket then was suddenly pushed away. He saw Shadow stumble a few steps ahead, the emerald in hand. The emerald flared brightly as his body began to pulse with blue energy.

The GUN soldiers opened fire on the black hedgehog. The bullets simply bounced off him the energy creating a shield around. Knuckles, Amy and Sonic took steps back covering their faces as the bullets ricocheted off him.

Over the radio Sonic heard Tails yell "What's going on, sensors are picking up a massive amount of chaos energy!?" before Sonic could answer he heard Shadow yell.

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

"What?" they all said but suddenly teleported.

Looking around they all found themselves back at Sonics house. They all looked around to find Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Silver and Omega there. Tails wasn't he was still flying around back where he was. Shadow was nowhere to be seen.

"Where is he!?" Amy screamed in terror.

"I don't…" Sonic said then saw in the distance a massive red explosion.

"He used Chaos Blast" Knuckles commented.

Seconds ago…

Tails saw the flare of chaos energy on his screens he turned on the radio "What's going on, sensors are picking up a massive amount of chaos energy!?" he received no reply but noticed almost half the energy dissipate dramatically.

His screens then alerted him to coming danger originating to where Shadow last he checked.

"No, he not doing that" he mumbled. He quickly looked out as he passed by and saw Shadow alone still being shot at brightly glowing red now.

"We need to leave now!" he yelled.

"What about Shadow!?" Cream said seeing him down there too.

"If we don't leave now, he'll be the death of us!" he said hitting the afterburners.

His screens flared from all the energy being released and looked back seeing the massive explosion expanding. He'd easily clear it but the last two helicopters and any soldiers in the area weren't.

Tails called out "Sonic!... please tell me you are ok"

"Ya Tails, good to see you're ok too. Shadow teleported us away just before he used Chaos Blast"

The fox sighed and said "I'm going back to get him. I'm gonna have to leave Cream so come get her"

"Don't worry bud I'll keep her safe"

Tails pulled around the jet and flew back and said "Sorry Cream but Shadow needs your seat"

"Don't worry it's ok" she said understanding the situation perfectly.

They neared the center of the blast, which had finished by now. Nobody was there anymore. Anything that was left was either completely gone or dust. It was morbid.

In the center was Shadow the only thing in the street, face down in the ground bleeding all over the road. Tails threw all caution into the wind quickly VTOL landing a bit away from the hedgehog and quickly hopped out of the plane and yelled "Cream help me out"

The rabbit hopped out following the fox.

Tails didn't take the time to check Shadows pulse or anything, there was no time for that and said "Take his legs I got his shoulders" flipping the hedgehog over. The hole in his side still very much there. Somehow the chaos energy had healed it up just a little bit so it was bleeding slower now. It was still bleeding but he had an extended time now.

The fox quickly grabbed the emerald too and picked him with Cream. They carried him to the Tornado and placed him in the co pilots seat.

Tails hopped back into his seat and said "Stand back" not wanting to hurt Cream on take off. She did as asked and stepped away as the engine flared up again and quickly flew off to the hospital.

He called over the radio on an open channel "Hello Hospital, no time to explain but a jet is about to arrive at your helipad, be ready for emergency care"

He heard somebody respond but he was too focused.

Within les then a minute he was landing at the helipad paramedics just barely showing up as he did. The sight of a jet landing on their helipad was already strange enough but when the two tailed fox pulled out a practically dead hedgehog they leapt to action.

One hour later…

Tails was waiting in the waiting room, he still hadn't cleaned the blood from his hands. He heard many footsteps approach and looked up to see all his friends arrive.

Amy rushed him and asked hysterically "Is he ok?"

"I don't know… they haven't told me anything yet. I've just been waiting!" he said speaking for the first time in nearly an hour.

Amy teared up, she had been holding onto the hope that he'd be ok but with no answer her composure was entirely gone.

Sonic walked to her and placed a hand on her shoulder "I'm sure he'll make it, he's too stubborn to die"

She didn't respond besides crying so he helped her sit down on a chair. Once he had put her there Vanilla sat next to the crying girl and consoled her.

Sonic walked to Tails again "What was he like when you found him?"

"Still bleeding, not as badly though. He was unconscious and basically dead. All I've heard since then is they are fighting to keep him alive with everything they had" Tails explained sadly.

Sonic needed to keep himself composed. If he didn't then everyone might start panicking "He'll make it, I know he will"

Tails nodded and barely remembered pulling out the chaos emerald "Here… please take it" The blue hedgehog did as asked and placed it back into his pocket.

Elsewhere in the room Rouge had her arms crossed defensively. She stayed away from everyone. To her surprise Knuckles approached her.

"You ok?" he asked her.

"I know you did your best… I just wish I had been there too. I mean he's my friend and all" she asked looking away from the echidna.

"I know. But you were there for him still. Despite not being there you were helping find him just as hard as the rest of us. I'm sure had it been your group you'd have fought just as hard as us" he said trying to be nice to the bat.

Her eyes looked back to him, she appreciated it and said "Thanks Knuckles"

"No problem" he smiled.

Silver had to sit down. Using his powers like that exhausted him so Blaze stayed by his side making sure he was ok.

Vector sat next to Vanilla was still trying to comfort and calm down Amy. He was also talking to Charmy trying to help him too, he was scared for Shadow. He'd always kinda looked up to the dark hedgehog and the ten year old couldn't imagine his friend dying.

Espio stood by himself quietly mumbling something.

Cream sat next to Tails and gently held his hand who appreciated it a lot. Although he quickly apologized for getting her hands dirty with blood. She didn't care, right now it wasn't that important.

Sonic stood alone waiting. He watched all his friends talking quietly with everyone. It was the closest he'd ever seen them all in a long time. Everyone working together and appreciative of eachothers company.

He heard foot steps approaching and saw a female golden retriever. He tried to read her face and predict what she had to say. It was but something else was there which gave him some hope.

He approached wanting to hear it first so he could tell the group himself.

She asked "Are you waiting on the black hedgehog?" she asked sure he was but was making sure. He nodded to her question.

"Ok well" she began to whisper "Right now he's still being treated on, he's still very much close to death but we've stopped his bleeding. Unless something happens that starts the bleeding or something else gives out, he's stable. As for recovering, we can't tell if he'll recover. That's all luck right now"

Sonic sighed, he was glad to hear Shadow was stable, but he was literally straddling the line between alive and dead. That probably meant nobody could see him right now too.

He nodded to her "Thank you, I'll let everyone. Please keep him alive" he pleaded to her then turned.

She nodded and got back to work while Sonic went back and retold his condition to everyone else.

Despite all the relief that he was stable they were all incredibly worried that he wouldn't make it. It was enough of a boost to make Amy stop crying though.

A couple more hours later…

Most of the group had fallen asleep, the only ones still awake, were Sonic, Amy, Tails and Vector.

During their wait Silver had snuggled up to Blaze and both had fallen asleep together. Vector supported both Charmy and Vanilla. It was kinda amusing but Rouge had fallen asleep leaning against Knuckles subconsciously in her sleep. Tails held Cream at she slept too.

Sonic was still standing relatively where he had been before and heard footsteps again turning to face the nurse from before.

His eyes pleaded for good news and she made a weak smile "Ok, we've got good news and bad news. And I really think you should start with the good first"

"Ok… go" he asked hesitantly the other three people awake listened in.

"He's going to live… barely, but…. He's…."

Amy got up and quickly walked over "But what!?"

"He's… he's…. in a coma"

The four gasped.

"A coma… then get him out of it" Amy said getting hysterical again.

"I'm sorry… we can't. We can't even tell how long he'll be in it. He could be in the coma forever" she couldn't handle this pressure looking away.

Sonic hugged Amy and asked trying to stay calm "Ok, so what can we do?"

The female sighed "Only two choices, you can either pay to keep him alive and hope he wakes up or… and I'm gonna be very careful saying this but… let him go"

"No, we can't. We'll pay anything!" Amy pleaded.

She nodded "Ok, then, we'll keep him alive for a few days. Figure out how you're gonna pay until then" her frown heavy but asked "For now could you fill out this form. You need to sign in your friend for us"

Sonic took it and filled out the paper work remembering to use a fake name for Shadow. He had made sure do that so the government couldn't find the record of him being here.

When he handed it back she looked confused. Considering the form was filled out by Sonic the hedgehog and their friend was a dark hedgehog she assumed it was Shadow.

"Umm… may I ask… is this Shadow the hedgehogs real name?" wanting to make sure.

Sonic sighed hoping she wouldn't ask.

"Listen, he's like this because the government wanted to capture him. Please use the fake name and tell nobody. Or they will come and take him away"

She went wide eyed realizing the gravity of the situation and nodded "Yes, I'll do that. Nobody else will know"

She walked away after receiving a nod and smile from the hedgehog and went to hand over the form to a desk worker.

Amy whimpered at the thought of Shadow possibly being a coma forever, he could live forever but would be asleep through it all. It didn't seem fair.

Sonic comforted her again and soon both were in their seats sleeping.

Through the next few days they figured out a plan on how to pay for Shadow. Blaze and Silver had a lot of big deals coming up for work so they would pay most of it. Everyone else pitched in what they could.

When the forms had all been sighed and paid for they were all allowed to see Shadow.

At the moment only Sonic, Amy, Tails, Cream and Vanilla came.

Amy entered the room and found Shadow totally comatose. He was hooked up to several machines keeping him alive.

She gasped seeing him like that and walked to the side of the bed staring down at him.

"Oh Shadow… you… please wake up?" she whispered. There was clearly no response and the rest of her friends watch all silently in sorrow for both her and Shadow.

They all stood there, they didn't know what to do. What could they do? He was almost lifeless. They couldn't really speak to him or hear what he had to say. It felt hopeless.

They waited for about half an hour before leaving him alone.

After everyone visited whenever they had the time and felt like looking at the poor hedgehog. Rouge visited a few times. She spoke to him recalling old jobs wondering if speaking would help.

Tails did the same, but more spoke about his own life.

Amy would come and just hold his hand silently the entire time hoping he'd wake up.

Silver and Blaze would stop by too, although they didn't stay long.

Vanilla would come sometimes either with or without Vector and silently watch him or speak with her company.

Sonic only came alone or with Amy but he quietly stayed the room no matter what. Although later in the year he'd speak with the nurse that he'd spoken to the first time he had been here. He'd learned her name was Chloe and she was nice. Like she promised she hadn't told anyone that Shadow was actually Shadow. Tails had also hacked GUN and learned that they believed Shadow was dead. Having killed himself in the explosion.

Everyone showed less regularly.

One year later…

Chloe walked into the room, almost everyone was visiting today since it was the first full year Shadow had ben in here. She had to ask them if they were going to pay for another year. Although she politely waited for everyone to start clearing out.

"Umm, Silver Blaze. I need to speak with you" she frowned.

The two turned and she continued "I'm sorry to ask you this but you need to pay for the next year of bills for Shadow"

The hedgehog and cat sighed, they really didn't want to go through this right now, but Blaze said "We've been thinking about that. His bills are gonna put a dent into our accounts. We'd be stretching ourselves"

Chloe nodded "Well you have a few days, speak with everyone ok?"

They nodded and spoke to their friends.

"Guys we can't keep this up. We barely made it through this year paying his bills. I don't want, I really don't but unless we get some help we can't pay for his bills" Blaze explained heart broken she couldn't do more.

We can't just give up" Amy pleaded looking around to anyone who could help.

Rouge stepped forward, "I'll pay half of it" nobody knew where the money was coming from except Amy, it was she had left over from the heist they pulled just over a year ago.

With that agreed they were all able to pay.

Knuckles walked u to Rouge "I don't know where the money is coming from but… I'm glad you are offering what you can"

"As I said, he's my friend. I'll do what I can for him" she said all serious.

Knuckles then looked over to her and nervously asked "Ummm… Tails finished up the defense systems for angel island and… I'm finding it hard to pass the time… mind if we do something tomorrow or something?"

Rouge looked to him surprised "Oh… well, I guess we could do something. Sure. I'll meet ya tomorrow"

He sighed lightly and said "Thanks" Rouge was surprised by his wanting to hang with her but it was a welcome surprise.

After that everyone got on with their lives again visiting Shadow when they could. Most of them slowly visited less and less but still came around atleast once a month. Tails was really the only one who kept up coming atleast once a week. He would read to Shadow or just talk to him.

Late in the year everyone had to worry about paying for Shadow again. Silver and Blaze couldn't spare any more money since the year had been a bit hard. Everyone else couldn't accumulate the money they needed help and soon all came to the realization they couldn't make it.

It destroyed Amy and everyone else wasn't much better. After two years they'd have to let go of Shadow.

Tails took the news badly too but he continued seeing Shadow like always in hopes he could wake him up.

Unknown to everyone a miracle was coming. But for now they were all preparing to all visit Shadow one last time before he had to be unplugged. Until a phone call from Tails lifted their spirits.

Present…

Shadow had listened to the entire story. The whole time he had been trying to move even the slightest and was actually able to move his fingers a little. His friends went through so much just for him. Nearly made themselves bankrupt to save him. He felt terrible but also felt loved that someone would actually got that far for him.

"Tails… you really came all those times?" he asked the fox.

"Of course I did. We're friends, I carried you to the hospital keep you alive, I wasn't gonna give up" Tails spoke finally back in the moment.

Shadow wanted to hug the fox but obviously couldn't so resorted to a warm smile. He could remember more of his time asleep with Maria. He'd found it good to be nice to her. So he decided to change himself a bit in real life. He might be a bit rude and distant but he would also more likely nicer to people in general.

"So Chloe has been quiet, I got to thank her later for that" he commented.

"Yup, thanks to her the army believes you are dead" Tails smiled but then thought abut all the actual dead people.

"You know it was the only way right?" the dark hedgehog said knowing what he was thinking about.

"I know… if we'd left you there they wouldn't have had to die but then you wouldn't be here now" It was a choice he hoped Shadow would think about.

They stayed quiet but heard heels clicking down the hall.

"That sounds like Rouge" Tails said recognizing her heels.

Sure enough in another few seconds Rouge rushed in and gasped seeing Shadow awake "Oh Shadow, hun you're awake!" She was quickly followed by Knuckles also smiling to see his friend back.

Shadow hardly was able to say hello as Rouge dashed over and hugged him "I missed my partner!"

"Uhhh, hey Rouge… I'd hug back but you know, kinda paralysed" he explained. Tails just watched smiling as the red echidna walked to his side also watching the scene.

Rouge backed off and said "I was so worried you'd never wake up."

Tails quickly said "Don't worry Rouge, he already knows what would have happened tomorrow"

The bat and echidna frowned, they felt ashamed for almost letting the hedgehog die.

"Don't worry. I can't ask you all to bankrupt yourself for me. I'm glad I'm awake now"

The two new comers nodded with smiles.

"So what do you do now without me?" he asked the bat.

"Well I still keep up with my normal life. Although I could never find a replacement for you. But I also took a more stable job. Now work as an investigative reporter at the local news paper" she explained.

Knuckles then said "I work as a boxing instructor, with Tails defense system I don't need to hang out at angel island all the time so I got that to pass the time now"

"Good for you. Training champs I'm sure" Shadow smirked.

"Doing my best to" he chuckled.

"You better get back on your feet soon Shadow, I miss the old days as partners" Rouge smiled leaning back in her chair.

"I'll do my best, trust me when I say I want out of this damn bed ASAP" he agreed.

Hearing more footsteps they looked to the door and found Blaze and Silver run in. he was exhausted since he wasn't much of a runner but Blaze was fine.

"It's true. You're awake" Blaze said stunned.

"It's about time our investment payed off" Silver panted joking a bit but Blaze just lightly slapped his shoulder.

"Hey there you two" Shadow smiled.

The cat walked and hedgehog walked to the side of the bed "We spent a ton on you, it's good to see it all payed off in the end" Blaze looked down him.

"I heard" he simply responded back "How are you guys?"

Silver smiled hard but Blaze shushed him, they were hiding something for now.

Once again footsteps were heard. Sliding in came Vector, Charmy and Espio. Too bad Vector was big and slipped and tripped over his friends.

"Get off Vector" Espio grunted.

The croc quickly got up scratching his head "Sorry"

Charmy buzzed up and yelled seeing Shadow "You're awake!" his voice starting to crack as he entered puberty.

"Ya I've been getting that a lot recently" Shadow joked making everyone chuckle.

"It is good to see you awake again" Espio said silently.

In contrast Vector yelled "You're awake buddy, finally Vanilla can get your junk out of the house!" obviously joking.

"Good to see you two" Shadows voice filled with joking sarcasm.

The room was slowly getting really crowded now especially with Vector who was like three people combined.

Next group was Cream and Vanilla. Cream had grown like Tails, only about half an inch shorter then him now and growing into a attractive woman.

Vanilla looked basically the same though. They two were obviously happy to see Shadow awake and well.

"I missed you Mr. Shadow!" Cream said hugging him before sitting on Tails lap due to the ever decreasing space in the room.

Shadow knew there was only two people left to arrive, one of which was could hardly wait to show up.

Just like that two pairs of footsteps were heard and everyone looked back. At the doorway was Sonic with Amy. He brought her over since they had been hanging out before then.

He let her go first and she approached the bedside smiling down at Shadow.

He just watched her an uncontrollable smile on his face "Hey Rose" he finally said.

Her eyes teared up in happiness, hearing his voice was the last thing she needed to be sure he was ok and hugged him intensely.

"I missed you so much" she cried into his ear.

He wanted to hug back and tell her everything was gonna be ok, he couldn't so he said "I didn't want to leave you behind"

He felt her hug tighter. He could see past her and everyone was watching silently with overjoyed smiles.

He hoped it would be enough to show her he wasn't leaving anymore. He had spent two year away from her and despite having Maria for company he felt empty. He knew he had to stay here.

Amy refused to leave his side but Sonic walked over "Hey Shadow, long time now see" he smirked joking.

"Well atleast for me" Shadow said going with the joke.

"But seriously glad to see you awake bud. We all missed you… I'm sure you can tell though"

Shadow smiled "Yes I can clearly see that now. Any nobody has to explain what happened, Tails explained everything for me before you guys showed up"

They were all relieved. Nobody wanted to recount the doubt, worry and sadness again.

That's when Chloe came in and smiled seeing everyone here at once again "I see everyone has seen Shadow awake. I hate to say it but his visiting time is coming to a close"

Everyone looked saddened that they'd have to leave Shadow alone but he did just wake up so the doctors needed to assess him.

Everyone saifdtheir goodbyes filing out. Rouge waved goodbye and blew him a kiss, flirty like always. Sonic, Amy and Tails remained. The fox got up and said "Well I better get going, I got grants to use. I'll visit again soon I promise" he pointed to the hedgehog confidently taking his leave.

Shadow looked to the last two and said "Don't worry, I'll be here next time you visit" joking in his tone a but making the two laugh.

"I just don't want to leave you alone" Amy whimpered.

"I won't be, it's a hospital full of people. Besides Chloe can keep me company"

The pink hedgehog sighed I hate to do it but I'll see you later. I'm just happy you are awake" she with great hesitation let go of his almost lifeless hand. But kissed his forehead whispering, "You're not leaving again" it wasn't a question.

"No, I won't' he whispered back. She lifted her head and turned and walked out.

Sonic smiled "She was devastated with out you"

Shadow looked away "I would have hoped she'd have been ok without me"

Sonic sighed but smiled "I mean for awhile she didn't know what to do. Although she made it through and despite still being sad with you being gone she got better. Almost lost her job from avoiding it but she forced herself back. She stills lives with Vanilla and Cream. Also still works at the diner, although she's a supervisor now. Besides that she hasn't changed much" the hedgehog explained staying seated in the room.

"Well that's good to hear, I'm glad she made it through. How about you? How's life been?" he asked smiling.

"That's new, you actually caring" Sonic chuckled.

"Ya let's just say I had a lot to think about those last two years. Besides I had someone to talk to about it" he smiled warmly.

Sonic rolled his eyes but answered his question "I work now. I'm a coach for various teams at the nearby school. Still no girlfriend though" he said with a slight bit of sadness over that.

"Well that can't be bad. Remember you don't like getting tied down?" he wanted to ask again incase things changed.

Sonic made a short laugh "… Maybe I've done some growing too…. I don't see Tails as often anymore since he's either working on science stuff… or with Cream. It really made me feel lonely" Unknown to Shadow nobody else knew this.

"Oh so then why haven't you got one? You are Sonic the hedgehog?" his eyebrow raised.

"Well… remember you had a problem of girls asking you out only because you're Shadow… and to stay hidden?" Sonic asked. Shadow would have nodded but Sonic understood "Ya well I want to find someone like Amy who isn't in it for the nae either"

Shadow thought, he remembered observing Chloe blush at the mention of Sonics name and asked "Any people you might consider?"

"Not really" he said with a sigh.

Shadow didn't want to name drop but also wanted to figure his idea out and said "Well I'll let you know if anyone around here might like you. I got nothing else to do besides listen and observe for awhile"

Sonic chuckled at what he thought was a joke "Thanks, good luck with that"

"Well you better get going" Shadow flicked his eyes to the door.

Sonic nodded "Ya I guess I do. I'll see you again man. Hope your physiotherapy works fast"

"I'll try my best"

"You always do… and it's really good to see you awake…. I know I would have regretted pulling the plug" the blue hedgehog frowned having almost ended his friends life. The doctors still couldn't find out if he'd be asleep forever or temporarily so they were taking a big gamble giving up.

"Well you didn't have to. Don't dwell on it now" Shadow almost ordered.

"I'll try" he looked away then walked to the door.

"Anyway, have fun lounging around with good looking nurses tending to your every need"

Shadow rolled his eyes "Oh ya I'm sure I'll have fun having them do 'everything' for me"

Sonic realized what he meant, oh right, your waste and junk… everything besides that" he corrected himself.

"See ya around" Shadow said chuckling letting him leave.

In a few minutes appeared and checked on him "So I assume you enjoyed your friends being here?"

"Definetly" Shadow smiled.

"Good. I always heard you were cold and distant. Doesn't seem that way with such devout friends" she pointed.

"I was. I got better recently before I got into a coma though. Guess I left and impression"

"A damn good one" she pointed out checking stuff on her clipboard.

Shadow was quiet and asked "So…. Do you have a boyfriend?"

 **Ok, I can already see all the people getting pissed I pulled the 'coma card' but I kinda don't care. As I said in the last chapter I wanted to make everyone closer as a group and showing everyone go to those lengths to keep Shadow alive(with the flashback and the monetary stuff)**

 **As I said above I'm sorry this took me a day or two to update. I recently started doing my first ranked gamed of League of legends and it took a lot of my time. Plus the day before I was exhausted as I explained.**

 **I also want to say obviously Chloe is made up but she isn't really and OC, I don't plan to keep her around as one unless people like her. I actually have a bit of trivia about her I might remember to reveal in the next chapter. It has to do with her collar and my uncles dog who I love.(already a connection cause they are both golden retrievers)**

 **Also loz on the chapter name.(atleast to me)**

 **So hope you enjoyed the chapter and hope you enjoy what's coming up. Until next time!**

 **Admiralkirk**


	15. Try again

**A/N Hey hey! Well here's chapter 15, duh.**

 **SO I just wanted to make a shout out to my most recent reviewer VelverElixir and wanted to thank him for the kids words. I didn't know I was doing the characters that good, but I agree. I like the logical ideas that lead to character change. I can't stand seeing a character inexplicably act different(for example suddenly Sonic is a total douche in some other shadamy fics) As for Amy thanks, I was hoping to make her more of a full character, I personally like her a lot because she's kinda funny in the way that she's literally a fan girl in her own universe. But I still think there's more to her then just that. I'd like to know what you meant by developing characters to change like more specifically?(I mean I know for sure you mean Sonic and how I totally destroyed him for a chapter and made him change for the better. But another… I mean if you remember and want to spare the time)**

 **As for Lonewolf14 to answer your question "nope" You know how I know, because answer me this is it ok that a dude is writing a love story?**

 **To "Zero"(guest) thanks, I never understood the random evil Sonic. I think I spoke of it before in another chapter and thanks. I'm so glad someone noticed I'm making Shadow slowly change. Although in these next few chapters you may have noticed he's very much changed. Let me know(All of you) if you want him to still be a bit gloomy or get him to be better. I mean if he's gloomy he'll still have a good heart, he'll still just be quiet and junk.**

 **Anyway thanks man/girl I appreciated it let's get on with this.**

Shadow had been in the hospital for awhile now. His physiotherapy had started yesterday so he was still very weak. The day before was mostly just hearing what would happen, safety stuff. All the boring stuff.

Today he was actually gonna do something although Chloe had mentioned for him not to get his hopes up. The first day didn't usually reap much reward.

In the week he had done some recon for Sonic. The blue blur had no idea he was doing that but Shadow wanted to repay him for saving his life. He wanted to repay everyone at some point, but considering his situation he couldn't do much.

He had learned from Chloe that she had no boyfriend at the moment. That raised his hopes for her.

"So Chloe may I ask you what your collar tag is for. I mean it looks special" he asked as she rolled him to his therapy session.

"This? Oh it's something I bought for myself awhile back. It's got a leaf on it because I generally like being outside and enjoying the scenery the world has to offer, especially trees. The other side has an "A" which stands for Autumn, my favorite season. The leaves of pretty, but it also stands for my middle name which is also Autumn" she explained.

"Oh wow, packed a lot into a little piece of metal" he smiled. His head had to be propped up by a stand attached to the wheelchair he was in. He hated it because every little crack in the floor made it bump his head slightly, plus is was kinda uncomfortable.

"Yes, I guess it is a lot" she smiled.

"Do you go for walks in the forest?" Shadow asked having a plan.

"Sometimes. The quiet is nice and forest is gorgeous" the female answered.

Shadow smirked, she couldn't see since she was pushing the chair "Ever walk with somebody?"

Chloe chuckled "It's a little early to be offering to come along Mr. Hedgehog" the name was a subtle way of saying she wasn't interested in his romantically, infact the tone felt a bit offended that he was hitting her when Amy obviously cared about him a lot.

"No, no. That was not my intent" he quickly said to reassure her "No I was just asking. I promise I'd never try that behind Amy's back" he then realized they still technically weren't even dating yet. She never said yes years ago and never really said yes to this day. They hadn't spoken of it either since he woke up. It was kinda implied. That wasn't good enough he wanted to know for sure.

"Sorry, can never be too sure right?" she apologized.

"It's alright… so I guess by your answer it's a no?"

He could fell the female roll her eyes "No I don't walk with anyone"

Shadow smirked again.

When he was rolled into the physiotherapy area he was surprised to see three of his friends, Tails, Sonic… and beautiful Rose.

"Hey buddy, ready to start walking again?" Sonic said purposely over and enthusiastic pumping his fist as well.

Tails just chuckled but said "In other words, we're gonna help you get walking again" Amy nodding in agreement.

"Great, I'm never gonna get better, I need professionals" Shadow rolled his eyes, though really appreciated them helping him out.

Sonic huffed "Well, if that's how you feel guess we'll just leave" faking by over reacting again.

Amy rolled her eyes at the blue hedgehog "No, we'll be more for emotional support"

"You aren't making us seem anymore useful Amy" Tails joked.

Shadow just rolled his eyes but soon the actual doctor showed up "Well today, we're gonna work on getting you to move stuff like your toes, hands, wrist, maybe your neck. That work for you?"

"Yes that's great" he smiled.

Sonic joked "Hmmm, well let's tickle his feet that will get his feet curled"

"Touch my feet and I swear I'll kill you when I get back up to speed" he warned.

"And the old guy is back" Sonic complained.

"Ya well shut up and maybe the new will stay"

"Can't even get away with a few days of peace without them fighting" Tails complained Amy nodding in agreement.

The doctor cleared his throat "Anyway, on with work. How much can you currently move your hands?"

Shadow tried to move his fingers, over the week he'd tried this before so he was able to turn them to fists, it was slow and took a few tries to get them to fully clench.

"Good, hand controls are nearly back" he scribbled on his clipboard "How about your wrist?"

Shadow tried again though was only able to at most twitch his wrist. He growled at that as the doctor said "Just regaining muscle control" scribbling again.

"Ok now try the same for your feet"

Shadow looked down and tried to move his feet. He missed being able to walk. He was known for three things, being a dark depressing person, chaos powers and running. And not being able to go fast made the last one a lie.

He gritted his teeth trying hard, he felt like he was doing something that happened in a movie… Kill… what was it, started with a "b" doesn't matter.

With a lot of effort only his big two moved and only a little bit. He actually panted having tried so hard to perform the action. It was aggravating that the simplest of tasks were out of his reach now.

"Don't worry Shadow" Amy said seeing his frustration "You'll get it in time" her voice was soothing and it calmed him. Although he didn't want to wait. He wanted to get back into the world and live his life with Rose.

"I know, I just want to get out of here" he explained briefly. Everyone understood what he meant. It must have been hard to wake up, learning you missed two years of your life and unable to make up lost time.

Amy walked to him and said "Good things come to those who wait" spouting wise words.

"Cliché but correct Rose" Shadow smiled.

Both smiled to eachother and they continued for about an hour.

"Good work today. We'll do this again tomorrow" The doctor smiled walking out.

Shadow had gotten his hands to come completely under his control and use his wrists a little. He could manipulate it anyway he wanted just slowly and with effort. His toes were a bit better and he was slightly able to move his ankle. So all around improvement.

"See not so hard" Sonic smirked, Shadow had complained how it was hard earlier so he brought it back.

"You go into a coma for two years then tell me what's hard and not hard" Shadow growled. His head turned a little to face him, something else he had pulled off was very minor neck control.

Sonic chuckled "Nah I'll pass on that. I like to run"

Tails rolled his eyes but said "Anyway, you did well, just keep working on it when you get bored and it may go by faster" the information was kinda obvious but Shadow didn't mind.

Amy was at Shadows side but said "Sorry I'd like to stay but I need to get to work. Promise me once you get back into shape you'll drive me again? I really miss those rides" she was also still afraid of the neighborhood but nothing had happened since then.

"Of course I will, you really think I'd stop doing that for you?" he looked up at her although she kneeled a bit to make it easier for him.

"Good, the couch isn't the same without your groove you made from sleeping on it" Amy joked.

Shadow laughed "Well if they ever let me out of the hospital I can still do that even in my current state"

"Too bad they won't" she pouted.

"Guess I got to try harder to wake my body up" he smirked.

Tails cut in "Listen I need to leave before you guys start having a moment, I hate to but I got important classified stuff to do"

"See ya Tails, appreciate all the moral support" The dark hedgehog smiling and making a small nod to his friend.

Tails tipped a imaginary hat to everyone and walked out.

Amy hugged Shadow "Got to go, get better ok!" then kissed his cheek and left.

"So it's just you and me faker"

"Ya well not for long I got practice to get to" he said.

"Course. But I wanted to speak to you about something before you leave" Shadow asked hoping Chloe wouldn't show up.

"What about?" he looked curiously "Not gonna come out of the closet and admit you love me?" he jokingly asked.

"What!? NO, god no! Never" Shadow said in disgust now with the image in his head and he HATED it.

Sonic just laughed "Hope that sticks in your mind" he smirked afterwards.

"You're such a dick I'm not gonna tell you what I wanted to say now" he said, the only defiance he could use in his state was silence. He knew Sonic would be pissed off by that.

"Aww come on tell me" he begged.

"Nope"

"Tell me or…. I'll toss you out of your chair"

"Chloe wouldn't like that. Then everything I have to say will be useless" Shadow smirked knowing that'd get his attention.

"Huh, what?" Sonic asked confused now.

"I spoke with Chloe, she's single, is straight, isn't a fan girl and looking for a partner. You said you wanted to find a girlfriend, why not try her?" Shadow asked. He also had a feeling she did like him because back when he woke up he noticed her blush at Sonics name.

"It's been two years and I've never seen any signs from her that she likes me?" Sonic crossed his arms not believing him.

"Are you sure it isn't because all your other suitors in the past have been maniac fan girls, girls can be subtle you know" Shadow smirked absolutely right.

Sonic tapped his chin contemplating what he'd said. After a short time "Ok… so how should I ask?"

"By asking?" Shadow said like it were obvious.

The blue blur was about to answer back when the woman they had been talking about walked in and said "Oh, Sonic, keeping Shadow company until I showed up?"

"Huh, oh ya, we were just talking about stuff" Sonic covered it up, he was still thinking to hard to take Shadow's advice.

"Of what I may ask?" she said getting ready to take Shadow back to his room.

"Just guy stuff" Sonic said being general and vague.

"Oh, well alright then. Anyway say bye"

Shadow just rolled his eyes at his friend "Ya see ya around Faker. Hope you consider what I said" the line made Chloe's curiosity rise but didn't ask yet.

The hedgehog nodded and said "See you around Chloe" as he finally left to head to his practice.

Once he was gone Chloe wheeled Shadow back to his room and asked "Productive I hope?"

"Yup, check out" he smirked moving his hand and wrist for her.

"That's great, only gonna improve from hear"

He nodded and it was quiet for moment until Chloe hesitantly asked "So may I ask what you and Sonic were talking about?" then said trying not to sound rude "I don't want to impose just… seemed secretive"

"Sorry can't say anything. If he wasn't gonna say anything I'm not gonna say anything either" Shadow apologized.

He couldn't see it but she frowned and ears dropped a bit "Ah well that's good of you then" quickly getting her composure back "I'll just have to interrogate it out of you then" she joked.

"Bring it" he challenged jokingly back.

A week later…

Shadow had been improving fast; the doctors even thought it was worth a try for him to walk. So far he had started to regain full motor controls in varying degrees. He had near perfect control of his arms, had control of his legs and feet but they didn't have the stress of his entire weight to worry about yet. Everything was up to par again.

The doctors had been surprised by his fast recovery but he was determined to get better fast. He hated being the hospital. He also hated being so vulnerable. He may have changed a bit since he was nearly killed 2 years ago but he still hated the feeling weak and exposed. It was an instinct he may never out grow.

Not that he didn't make the most of it, Chloe was still incredibly friendly and Shadow felt like he owed her for helping him stay in secret. At this point they were friends too. He continued his recon of her, he tried speaking to her about Sonic a few times making her just a bit nervous or try to change subject. It was very subtle, she'd find a way to turn what they were talking about into a story and avoid it.

He could tell she liked him at this point. He found it ironic that he was in Sonics position from two years ago when he had been unsure of asking Amy to be his girlfriend.

As for his other friends they visited when they could. He'd learned from Sonic that Knuckles and Rouge had a thing going on, neither of them could quite realize it, but there was a lot of flirting and good-hearted teasing. Knuckles didn't even get mad at her anymore; he'd blush or laugh along with her.

"It's been two years in the making but I think it might finally happen" He remembered Sonic saying.

Shadow was happy for his friend Rouge. Nothing was official until one of them made a move but if it did he could see why. Rouge was a strong independent woman. She made grand heists, travelled the world and was a magnificent fighter. It made sense that a good match was a strong man as well. Sure Knuckles was a bit thick headed but he had good intentions in his mind.

He then learned how Sonic personally was.

"So made a choice on Chloe yet?" asked sitting up in his bed now.

Sonic sighed, he really didn't want to talk about this "Why are you so interested in my love life?" he hoped the question would deter him.

Shadow chuckled "Coming the from the guy who was so into my love life. Besides all I got to do in here is think about what all you guys do"

Sonic groaned "Can't talk about my tams, or anything else?"

"Stop being a baby and talk" if he was avoiding this hard then he definitely had something interesting to say.

Sonic looked out his rooms window and sighed "I honestly don't know. She really is a nice woman. But I don't know if a girl like her would be into a guy like me"

Once again the memory f Shadow having the same worries in his mind about Amy came to his head. "Just because she doesn't seem to be into that doesn't mean she isn't" his tone heavily hinting something.

Sonic heard the tone and eyed him suspiciously "What do you know?"

"What do I need to know?" he smirked.

Sonic growled at his elusiveness "You know something. Tell me"

"It'd be cheating if I told you anything. You'll have to ask her to find out" the smirk on his face was glorious.

Sonic hated having no idea, but he was right the only option he had left if Shadow was gonna stay tight lipped was ask Chloe herself.

"Fine asshole, how do you suggest I ask?" Sonic asked.

Shadow rolled his eyes answering the same way he had before "Just ask her stupid"

Sonics fist clenched in anger but he calmed and said sternly "New topic"

"Fine, how's the teams?" the dark hedgehog asked.

"Doing fine. We don't win all the time but I always tell them just playing and having fun is the important part" he smiled.

Shadow said "Oh really? That's what you say? I remember how competitive you were"

"You aren't the only person who's changed since those days" Sonic said looking out the window again.

The dark hedgehog nodded "I see" it was good to hear.

After that Chloe had stopped by to check on Shadow but Sonic stayed quiet through her visit. That amused Shadow but he purposely asked "So Chloe, you talk to Sonic much while I was asleep?" He spotted Sonic eyeing him angrily.

The dog had a noticeable pause for half a second "No, not too often"

"Why may I ask? It has been two years"

Chloe looked to the blue hedgehog then back to Shadow "Well I mean they were here for you. I didn't want to distract anyone"

Shadow quickly looked to Sonic to see if he had a reaction to that. He could see Sonic was listening intently very obviously interested now.

"I'm sure they'd understand. You did help a lot keeping me safe as well. You risked losing your job to keep me secret" he pointed out making her blush. She never really thought it was that amazing but Shadow appreciated it more then he let on. Last time atleast he was able to fight them off, had she not helped he could have been taken away and had no say what so ever.

"I'm sure your friends would have found a way" she said humbly.

Sonic finally spoke "No we had no plan had you not helped us out. You have no idea how much you helped" hearing that from him made her blush harder and smile.

"Well… thank you" she had no idea what else to say to that.

Shadow just smirked flicking his eyebrows up a sec like he were saying "Told ya"

Sonic then shrugged but clearly had a lot on his mind and stood from chair. He hadn't noticed that Chloe was walking towards him to leave as well and they nearly bumped into one another.

"Oh sorry about that" he said nervously but trying to be polite "You can go first"

"Oh it's quite alright, thank you" she also nervously replied walking by holding off a blush until then.

Shadow held back laughter and Sonic just growled at how nervous he was there. He noticed Shadow's snickers and looked away blushing and just left to get away from the laughing hedgehog.

The day after that Tails visited bringing Cream as well.

"Hey Shadow, how are ya?" the fox smiled walking in disrupting Shadow from a book Chloe had kindly got him.

He book marked his page also seeing the rabbit come "Hi you two. Tails did you find sometime away from your projects to talk to me" he felt so honored.

"I've made time to come visit you before I can still do it now" he said sitting down.

Cream sat next to him in the second chair "He's not that busy Shadow"

"I know" Shadow simply said waiting for them to open the conversation.

Tails quickly said "So I heard you are able to move around a bit?"

Shadow demonstrated his abilities by moving almost everything on his body, his legs still needed work so they more or less just wiggled under the sheets.

"Yup, docs say I'm progressing fast. Apparently if I keep up this pace I should be out by the end of the month" Shadow explained.

"Exciting" Tails smiled "Hey I wanted to show you something I made during the time you were asleep"

Shadow looked to him surprised but allowed Tails to do what he wanted to do. Cream smiled next to him excited.

"Hey you can come in now!" he shouted and the dark hedgehog looked to the door.

Floating inside was a small blue chao. Although the tip of its head was a propeller like Omochao. Unlike Omochao though the eyes looked real, the mouth looked real and in general looked more natural.

"Chao Chao!" it said almost perfectly mimicking Cheese.

"Meet, Robo Cheese!" the fox announced with a smile.

Shadow smiled and said chuckling "You actually made him!?"

"Yes, all thanks to you"

"He's almost perfect, it's so good to have him back!" Cream smiled having loved him since she saw him.

"I did my best to re-create him entirely as he was. I mean I had to replace his wings with a propeller but other that that I made him flawlessly" Tails explained.

"He's just as cute as I remember him!" Cream said excitedly pulling him into a hug, not even close to being the first she'd given the bot in the last two years "Thank you so much Shadow" she knew the idea came from him.

"Hey all I did was direct Tails in the right direction and he came to that idea" he was humble about it "I'm sure he would have gotten the idea without me"

Tails shook his head "Nope, I doubt it"

"Well… if you think that then ok" Shadow shrugged though still believed Tails would have been fine.

"Anyway I wanted to show you him since you had a hand in his creation" Tails explained which made Shadow smile.

"Well he turned out great, besides the propeller I can hardly tell the difference" making Robo Cheese cheer in it's language.

"Even though he's not as huggable as before due to being made of metal I still love him" Cream added.

Shadow just smiled to his friends "Thanks, it's nice to see something I… somewhat influenced be made" he was just glad he had left a mark somehow incase he never woke up.

Tails then got to something else "So Sonics been whining about how you keep bugging him bout something mind telling us?"

Shadow thought it over seriously but said "If he didn't tell, I won't. As much as he annoys me and would tell m secrets in an instant I owe him on this one"

Cream huffed "You are no fun"

"Or maybe I just like seeing people squirm?" he smirked making both sigh in frustration.

"I don't want to sound rude to you both but is that all you came to say?" he asked wondering if they'd leave.

"Nah if you don't want" Tails offered.

He smiled at that and they continued talk until they had to leave.

Rouge stopped by the next, just before he was supposed to head for his physiotherapy.

"Hey there, Shadow" she said in her seductive voice as always.

"Hello Rouge" he smiled hearing her voice but said "It's not visiting hours"

"Ya let's just say I snuck in. The visiting hours don't agree with my schedule a lot so, here I am now"

He shrugged and asked "So what you been up to?" he wondered if she'd speak of Knuckles at all.

"Oh you know, writing for the paper, looking for a good job and generally hanging out with friends more" she explained briefly.

"You are actually actively trying to hang out with those people?" meaning his friends which he already knew were her friends too.

"What, I can't do that?" she asked defensively.

Shadow smirked "I heard you particularly like to hang with Knuckles"

"I always do, I bug the crap out of him" she said. She had bugged him in the past but according to Sonic it was different now.

"Not from what I hear. I hear you and Knuckles get along now" he smirked at her.

The bat Crossed her arms trying to figure out a way to explain that but sighed giving up "Fine… maybe Knucklehead and I get along better now" rolling her eyes at the end.

"I also hear, there's a lot of flirting" his smirk grew.

Rouge eyed him intensely "If you are insinuating something I'd rather you say it outright"

"Come on, stop avoiding, you like Knuckles"

Rouge hated being on the receiving end of knowing everything and growled but said "And what if I do?"

Shadow suddenly loosened up messing with her and said with a indifferent shrug "Then, good for you"

She sighed but knew he was seriously being supportive "…Thank you"

"No problem… so you two actually together secretly or something?" Shadow asked as he sat down.

"Oh no, I'm kinda expect Knuckles will never make a move and if I did he might get too nervous to answer" she frowned.

"Since when am I the all knowing god of relationships?" he thought to himself, first tails, then Sonic now Rouge.

"Unlike everyone I've helped Knuckles is a stubborn guy so I really can't help too well" he shrugged apologetically.

Groaning he leaned on her arms "I know I hide it well but I really do like him, he actually challenges me when I push him around. But he's also incredibly cute when I get him angry, plus he's strong and a good hearted guy for sure. He can be funny too, mostly by accident and it always makes me laugh" she smiled stating her likes of him.

"You'll find a way I'm sure. I mean you plan heists other couldn't ever do and you find this hard to plan out?" Shadow said trying to encourage her.

He heard her chuckle "Yes I see your point, but messing up in that just means I need to escape, not emotional pain" her point was quite valid.

"Well I guess I had the same problem asking Amy to be my girlfriend" he could relate "I knew she liked me a lot but here was always the doubt in my mind she might say no…. so much so I honestly thought her response was a no" he frowned feeling stupid.

Rouge knew how it panned out; she spoke with Amy a long time ago about it "Well yes it was kinda dumb you jumped to such an conclusion you asked and that's important too right?"

Shadow nodded "Well I guess I can give you one bit of advice "You'll regret it every day if you let him pass by you. It's easier to live with a no then nothing at all. Because you'll live forever knowing the answer just might as well been yes as well. Plus a no may hurt more at that moment but eventually you move on and find someone else" his wisdom was cliché and stuff everyone knew. It was just that weird piece of information everyone forgot when they wanted to ask somebody that question.

"I will consider your words sensei" she made a small bow "I mean I've been out with many guys before but that was either a means to an end or because I wanted a free dinner" Shadow chuckled at that.

"It's good to see you smile Gloomy" she smiled back.

"Ya well I've said to others but I thought a lot in my time in my coma, I had someone to talk to and guide me too" he said softly.

The bat could easily guess who he meant but stayed silent until "Well don't forget we all love your tough guy act too, so don't forget about that guy sometimes"

"I'll try"

"Good, that guy may have been annoying at times but we got used to him. Not saying become him again, but sometimes you were the sober mind of us"

Shadow then said "Well just make your move soon before you lose your courage ok? Now you better leave, my physio is like a minute away"

She hopped to her feet though kept her calm attitude and said "Thanks Shadow, good to see you can move, mostly, see ya around" she smiled and sauntered out.

Within another few minutes Chloe walked in "Hey Shadow, ready to try and walk today?" her enthusiasm high.

He smiled letting out a small chuckle "Of course. The sooner I'm out of here the better"

She fake pouted "Aww I thought you liked talking to me?"

"You have a life outside the hospital right?"

"Of course" she said.

"Alright then we'll meet there sometime" he joked as he grunted to get up and hang is legs to the side of the bed.

In another minute or two he was in the chair and being pushed along. He would've felt embarrassed but others were like this, and being unable to talk made him have to endure. So over the last few days he'd gotten used to being pushed around.

They went to the physio therapy ward and once inside he smiled seeing yet another familiar face.

"Rose, you are helping me out again?"

He saw her rolled her eyes "Like I'd miss your first steps" making him sound like he was a baby.

"Ya well that may take a bit"

She smiled again "Worth the wait"

The dark hedgehog shrugged "So how is Vanilla might I ask?"

"She's good. She and Vector are really close…. So close it keeps us up during the night" she chuckled "Anyway I think Vector is close to getting a knee and asking her the big question"

"Wow, really think it's that serious?" Shadow said surprised.

"I am almost absolutely sure" Amy nodded.

"Damn, hope I'm out of the hospital for that" Shadow said as the doctor came like always.

"Hello so we're gonna take the big step, pun intended. You are gonna use the walking bars to help you stay up"

Shadow looked to the two horizontal bars parallel to eachother. He took a deep breath as he was wheeled over and looked to Amy who gave him a reassuring look.

This time Chloe stayed to help to, incase he fells she'd be there to catch him. Not that he planned on falling, he probably wouldn't be able to control it.

So with Amy and Chloe's help they helped him to his feet, once again he felt so vulnerable. He missed being able to be independent and strong enough to even just go to the bathroom himself.

Although the feeling of Amy touching him, holding him tight, was nice.

So now he propping himself up with the bars using his hands, and the rest of his distributed weight was on his legs. He could already feel all his limbs wobbling just from his evenly distributed weight, this would be way harder then he thought.

Behind him Chloe and Amy were ready incase he lost his balance or couldn't take the weight. They could also see his body shaking and knew that would probably happen.

He said "Bet you are both waiting for me to fall to be able to get your hands all over me" he flirted, he was more aiming towards Amy but Chloe giggled along with it anyway.

"Oh a chance to fondle Shadow the hedgehog, yes please" she joked

Amy smirked "Not if I catch him first" although this was a whisper so Shadow couldn't quite hear what she said. All he heard was giggling behind him so he shrugged.

So Shadow tried to taking the first step, his leg was heavy feeling. That wasn't even the worse part, it was much easier to lift his foot then it was to support the new weight it wasn't carrying anymore.

He actually felt himself sweat from the effort but he had to put it back down or risk falling.

Amy could heard behind him "Shadow if you need to take a rest, just tell us"

"No I got this" he growled in frustration at himself.

They nodded though were still ready for anything to happen.

Shadow took a few breaths then one final big one and tried again.

This trend went several times slowly exhausting him. He was pushing himself hard already and if he knew if he tried again he'd finally fall and said "Ok…. Let me… sit" his panting was hard despite him trying to cover it up.

The two woman helped him and he panted totally exhausted. It annoyed him that he had made such fast progress and now was stalled here. He obviously needed to work his leg muscles a bit more.

As he panted to catch breath Amy kneeled down next to him "You alright?" she asked frowning.

"No… I feel… so weak" he made a low growl hating feeling this way.

"It's temporary" she said hoping that would help.

"I know, it's just…. Taking too long. I've been asleep two years…. I've missed two years" he repeated himself. It may not have seemed important to someone who was mortal. They'd just think that since he's immortal it wasn't that big a deal and had it happened a month or two before it di he'd think the same. But his friends lived one without him, especially Rose. Two years he lost to spend with her. He only had so much time to be with her before she passed away.

Once again she'd probably live for atleast another 40 years if she stayed healthy, but that was miniscule compared to eternal life. He couldn't imagine how someone could be mortal; it had to be scary knowing that you only had so much time, especially since it could be cut short at any moment for any number of reasons.

He hated how cruel fate was, life ending in and instant or slowly. He knew that you were supposed to enjoy the time you spent with your loved ones while you could, his time with Maria helped him learn that. It just wasn't the same for him. Imagine your love dying then living anther million years without them. Not quite like losing a loved one and living ten years after or so with the potential promise of seeing them in some kind of afterlife. Not that he believed that stuff, he was quite literally a sin against religion. Gerald had quite literally played God and created him.

He was in such deep thought he didn't realize Amy had nudged him and said "Hey Shadow, need something to drink?"

She noticed him basically in space and lightly smacked his shoulder making him jolt back to reality "Huh, WHAT!?"

Amy laughed "Something on your mind?"

"Sort of" he mumbled. The idea of not being able to hear her laugh or see her smile one day scared him.

"Anyway you want a drink?" she asked again.

"Ya, sure" he smiled up to her trying to push the scary thoughts from his mind.

The session carried on like that, him trying hard only to fail or hit his limit and rest. He couldn't even make one step angering him. Although Amy always got him back in a calmer state.

Near the end he felt he had come incredibly close, if only his arms hadn't given out and needed to be caught.

He growled in frustration but sighed feeling himself pulling against Amy and reluctantly said "Thanks"

"No problem Shadow" she smiled. With Chloe's help they got him back in the wheelchair and he sighed "I was so close"

"Could tell" Amy nodded in agreement.

The doctor then spoke "Sorry you couldn't make the step, though I did see progress despite that. As you said you got close to making it. Sadly the session is over. I'm sure you'll get better tomorrow" his nodded then jotted things down for his report.

Chloe added "Yes, there's always tomorrow"

Amy then said quietly "Especially for you"

Shadow rolled his eyes "Please don't remind me"

Amy frowned hearing that "What's wrong?"

"Don't worry about it" he sighed. She but didn't ask though still frowned knowing something was up.

It was right about time for him to end, and considering he was totally exhausted it might as well end now.

"As I said there will always be tomorrow. We've got all the time in the world" Chloe said enthusiastically.

Shadow really hated that wording again "Well I guess so… I'm so bored in my hospital room, just wish I could get outside and see the world outside my window" he growled Amy calming him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Well unless you want to be rolled around in a wheelchair with a patient apron on that's not gonna happen" The pink hedgehog joked.

He rolled his eyes not into that idea "As soon as I can walk, I'm never gonna sit down again" he crossed his arms, although his statement was impossible he meant as in not sit unless he absolutely had to.

"Suuuuuure" Amy rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Ah shut up" he said leaning on his arm but heard her giggle "What?"

"GOING FOR A RIDE!" she yelled then started pushing him along running.

"Wait Stop!" he yelped white knuckle clenching his chair.

"Oh come on this feels just like when I first rode on your bike eh!?" she laughed.

"Except you weren't a cripple!" Shadow tried to reason as they rolled around the room at fast pace. Chloe's laughs could be heard. Both girls found it amusing that Shadow the hedgehog was afraid.

"I'm serious, stop!" he growled almost sounding threatening.

"What's the magic word?"

"PLEASE!?"

"And…?"

"And you are the most beautiful girl in the world?" he half stated, half asked.

"Oh please go on" she smirked.

"And that your eyes are like emeralds!" he continued desperately.

"Oh you are too kind" she smiled all girly-like but blushed since it was coming from him.

He noticed she wasn't stopping yet and said "…. And that your smile helps me wake up in the morning!"

"Such a romantic" she said over dramatically and giggling finding this a very effective way to make him say what he thought "Ok one more"

"Uhhhh… and… I… I love you?" he said feeling her slow totally silent. It's not he hadn't said it before… atleast with clouds. He was worried by her silence and cringed feeling the rejection coming.

"I knew it, she found someone else while I was gone, you're too late!" he screamed in his head.

He felt them stop his eyes were closed almost like he were hiding. Once again the feeling of being weak filled his mind again.

He even noticed he was going into a semi fetal position, since he couldn't pull up his legs it looked like he was half curled up and wrapping his arms around himself.

"Shadow…" he heard her ask the voice in front of him now.

He inched his eyes open again seeing her kneeling down at his level now. His eyes stared into her green emeralds, taking his breath away. His vision broadened from there and saw a soft, warm and loving smile.

He couldn't get himself to speak and she noticed it so she spoke first sweeping a quill over her ear in nervousness.

"You still do?" she hesitantly asked.

"Why would I lie about something like that?" he asked frowning.

"So…. Are you still afraid of…. You know?" she asked looking away.

He immediately reached for her chin and gently pulled it back to face him "No… I spent two years with nothing to do but think about it. I understand now, it's spending what time you have with your loved ones and making it the best you can. Not being able to be with them as long as possible" his heart rate barely had a chance to lower from his joyride before it was up again as he said this.

"Oh Shadow…" she almost swooned for real holding the hand holding her face and cuddled with it. The warmth was soothing and his gentleness was welcome. She had waited two years for him to wake up and tell her what he had before without fear. She was so happy a tear escaped her eye.

He used his other hand to wipe it away and asked "Are you alright?" everything that was happening was foreign to him. Why was she rubbing his hand against her face and crying?

"No… I'm perfect. I waited so long for you to say those words again" she sniffed now as another tear came.

"I'm sorry I ran away back then…." He frowned now the one looking away, he was so ashamed. He just forced her away after admitting his feelings from one sentence she said that was just a small concern to her. He was so nervous, the feelings all so new to him he jumped to a massive conclusion. One that made him nearly die alone. Not happening this time.

He looked back and said "I'm never leaving again" his tone was so sure, so sure of that she knew he meant it for more then just physically.

She gasped at his response and stared into his ruby eyes. She had no idea what to do after that. The stare was intense, stronger then any embrace or words.

"Rose…?" he slowly asked.

She took a breath "Yes?"

"What now?' he also had no idea.

They heard Chloe groan with a roll of her eyes "Just kiss you stupid hedgehogs, sheesh" she had been watching the entire time.

Both blushed realizing she had been there but Amy said blushing "… Should we… take her advice?" She had never gotten anywhere close to this with Sonic so both were now in foreign territory.

"I… suppose" he said much more nervous. Considering he didn't even know what to do. He knew what a kiss was and what it looked like but he didn't know what he had to do, to make it… special… fun… blow her away.

"Then umm…. Here we go" both of their heads inched closer. They were afraid of eachother judgment of the others abilities unknown to that neither had the same thoughts.

After what felt like an eternity their lips touched, it felt like fireworks and almost instantly both of them instantly realized what to do like they had known all along.

Amy leaned forward feeling him pull her closer. Shadow had no idea he had been missing out on such amazing feelings before. He instantly regretted not just planting the kiss on her two years ago.

The feelings were so strong he almost didn't break away to breath. When they both did he found she was now sitting on his lap now cuddling into his chest fur. He could tell from her face, even with her eyes closed she was the most excited she'd even been in years. He personally felt happiness he'd never been able to feel this and hoped it never went away. He really had to thank Rouge for not finding a job sooner or he may have never moved in with Vanilla and started this journey.

Her head nuzzled into the nape of his neck and he wrapped an arm around her then pet her quills.

"Shadow… don't ever almost die again" she said dreamingly, although he knew she was dead serious.

"I promise" he answered back all serious.

She was quiet then hesitantly asked "You promise you won't leave me?"

"Never. You mean so much to me… after what I just felt… all the new emotions and feelings… I don't think I could live without you now" he smiled and she blushed.

"Well… I felt all that too…. I hate to talk about Sonic in this moment but I have never felt such intense emotions for him" she explained.

He smiled though it was a half smirk like he knew he was better then Sonic no matter what he did now "Actually, I think that was great to say" not only was he happier then he'd ever been but now his ego was up.

Both were about to get comfortable and enjoy eachother company but they heard Chloe clear her throat "Ummm… hey you two love-hogs but I really need to get Shadow back to his room for his meds and rest… really sorry" she said nervously… and awkwardly.

The two hedgehogs very reluctantly separated and Amy said "We'll… umm continue that later I guess"

"Sure" Shadow not able to find words.

Amy nodded with a smile and said "Said… well… I got to go" a big smile plastered on her face.

"Ok, see you around" he smiled back, he wasn't able to match her smile but he was just as happy.

She leaned down and pecked his cheek and said "See ya around Shadow!"

He weakly waved back in a daze still as she walked away. He hated seeing her leave. The only thing keeping him from going after her was that they were finally together. He was so happy, he feared it might be a dream and quickly pinched himself and felt pain.

"Hell yes" he said to himself.

He watched as the love of his life left and Chloe approached "You did it, it's about time" getting behind him to push away.

"I know" he breathed out finding his hands were shaking in excitement.

Everything was blur but he didn't care, he was so happy. He could almost feel like he'd pass out, he might literally count the seconds until he met Amy again.

He day dreamed about his next encounter with his Rose, Chloe smiled from behind finding it amusing just how daydreamy he was.

She wheeled him back to his room and soon he was out to take a nap having happy dreams.

 **So that's another chapter down. I hope you liked it. A lot of dialogue and stuff but that's all I could get away with. I hope you guys are enjoying seeing everyone in two years. We're not done yet either so keep an eye out.**

 **That's about it, I just woke up from a nice nap to finish off the last few lines of this so my hands are kinda numb. Anyway tell me what ya think and see you next time**

 **Admiralkirk**


	16. Homecoming

**A/N Hey what's up? So we're getting near the end. Totally honest this will be the hardest part for me because I'll need to finish this and resist the urge to keep going. So I'm gonna close things up the best I can either in this chapter or the next. I got a few short ideas for other stuff but that will be separate.**

 **Anyway thanks for the support from all the reviewers I enjoyed seeing what you guys had to say and I'm glad I did well for my first sonic fic. Thanks again to everyone who reviewed.**

 **PS Left a joke somewhere in this chapter inspired by BlackPetals23, so just saying that so I don't get flaked by somebody. And thanks to her for letting me make the quick joke/scene. After the chapter(If I remember) I'll explain exactly what I mean.**

Shadow had spent the next week with new found determination, knowing Amy loved him and that she wanted to be with gave him all the motivation he needed to get out of this damn hospital.

People heard he was close to walking again and visited him again, this time Vanilla stopped by.

Shadow, good to see you" the motherly rabbit said. In the last two years she had ever so slightly aged.

"Vanilla, it's good to see you too" Shadow smiled looking away from his book.

"You look much better then when I last saw you. You also have a new air of confidence on you" she commented sitting down next to the bed.

He knew she probably knew about him and Amy now and said "Ya, well I got a reason to get out of here other then just wanting to leave"

Vanilla smiled "Yes I heard, Amy could hardly stop talking about it when you got home"

The dark hedgehogs cheek flushed but asked "She did?"

"Oh yes for nearly an hour she wouldn't keep quiet"

He blushed harder but Vanilla said "I'm glad you two are together, you really need her"

He looked up "What do you mean?"

Vanilla chuckled at his question "She is like your other half, you are quiet and touch. While she is louder and energetic and she brings out more positive qualities in you"

"Perhaps" he smiled.

Shadow spoke first starting the next conversation "So I'm able to walk again. Apparently sometime next week I'll be getting out finally. They said I should keep a cane with me just incase I need something to support me, it's good enough" he didn't care if needed a cane, it was worth is to be able to finally go outside.

Vanilla smile grew exposing her teeth "Shadow that's wonderful. Everyone will be so happy to see you up and about again"

"Ya I'll be happy to see myself up and about too" agreeing with her.

Vanilla smiled at the dark hedgehog "So who else has come to see you?"

"Sonic, Tails and Amy have stopped by several times, Rouge came secretly, she wanted to… talk privately" his subtle hint that whatever they spoke about was a secret.

"I'm Sure Tails showed you Robo Cheese right?"

'Ya he did. It looks just like the little guy. Except the propeller of course" Shadow smiled thinking back to that.

"Yes. You should have seen Cream when he revealed him…"

Over a year ago…

The mother rabbit was staring down the bag of stuff left behind by Shadow. It had been a few months since he slipped into the coma from his near death. Everyone assumed that it was a defense mechanism his body did when nearly killed because he was the ultimate life form. It only made sense that such an ultimate creature would have some sort of survival technique or something.

She refused to move his stuff from the side of the couch. It was her secret hope he'd wake up and come back and live in the house again like he had.

She thought of the day he first came to the door looking for a place to stay. She never trusted him before then. He looked down on his luck and Amy seemed to be the one who thought of it so she decided to allow it for maybe a few days as long as he helped out.

To her surprise though his tough exterior that made her weary of him turned out to hide a honest and hardworking side. He clearly didn't mean the family any harm and clearly did all the work he was asked to do without hesitation. At the time she guessed he knew that he had to do it to stay there so just did it.

As time went by she started to see deeper into him and even noticed him attach to Amy. She didn't know why but they took a shine to eachother and became good friend fast despite how much he might deny it at the time.

He was also well mannered and never broke any of the house rules, he was quiet and kept to himself. She almost didn't notice him sometimes when she was home. She almost sat on him when he was reading a book on the couch once.

Then he opened up more and surprised her, he became much more caring in his own special way. She heard how he beat up the mugger for Amy and saw actual chivalry in him. It was that night she realized she could trust the hedgehog.

From the time he got there he was always polite to her, obviously knowing how to respect his elders. He helped with dishes without being asked and eventually was nice to speak to. They managed to laugh at one another a bit. He seemed so calm around her, at ease and open. If someone else tried to mess with him even a little he'd just cross his arms and ignore them. Though he always knew she was joking around and as such joked back.

Then she heard He and Amy were dating. It shocked her, yes, it even felt a bit odd. Amy suddenly not after Sonic anymore? Shadow suddenly opening up to a relationship? It all felt odd. She knew something had to be going on. Her question was answered soon when she found out that it was all fake to make Sonic jealous and they just couldn't end it spontaneously. But by then she had started to see much more then just fake emotions.

Amy spent a lot of time with him talked about him more then usual. She even was generally happier around him. The rabbit also noticed Shadow open up more, get more relaxed and even break out a smile or two in her presence. The relationship may have been fake but something was building.

She remembered finding out about Cream and Tails and despite being a bit like she needed to be over protective she pulled off being proud of her daughter. She just appreciated that it was Tails of all people, she trusted him and he was a good boy. But what shocked her more was learning much later that Shadow had been the one to encourage the fox to make the move.

Since when was Shadow good at dating advice, Tails always explained that Shadow more or less gave him the guidelines while he thought of the idea, which was true, but still it came from Shadow which was important.

She watched from the side lines all the way through Shadows journey with them and near the end really considered him almost a member of the family. The quiet family member who would come but stay to himself in a family gathering. He'd listen and absorb the information and remember it.

She was getting close to asking the hedgehog to join them in the most recent family photo. But days before she got to courage to ask, he was nearly killed. It broke her heart, for awhile she even left a spot at the table for him. Like Tails it had been her special way of hoping he'd suddenly burst through the door and sit down with them and enjoy dinner like they had.

But now she just stared at his bag, everything inside neatly packed by her waiting at the side of the couch for an owner who would might not come back. She had admittedly spent a night or two waiting on the couch through the night looking to his stuff and hoping for his safe return.

Vector helped a lot, as did Cream. Amy was a wreck for a long time although Vanilla could tell why. She had explained how Shadow told her his feeling but upon realizing he was immortal thought it'd be better to not start a true relationship. Vanilla could see why he would say that but wished Shadow had gotten passed it.

Although hindsight didn't mean much when you were in a coma.

She was stripped from her thoughts as she heard the door knock her ears twitching that way.

Taking one last glance at Shadows bag she sighed and went to the door.

On the other side was Tails, he stopped by more often now thanks to dating Cream. She liked that because it allowed her to keep an eye on them. So far they were pretty tame. Besides the odd peck on the cheek or cuddling up to one another they were ok.

"Tails? You look handsome today" she said smiling down at the boy. He had on a blue button t-shirt and nice black jeans. His fur looked recently cleaned and bushed so she guessed he had something planned. It was Creams birthday today after all.

Vanilla had given Cream the news that she would start to learn how to drive since she was sixteen now which excited her.

"Thanks Vanilla, is Cream home?" he asked nervously, he definitely had something planned now.

"Yes, come in, I'll get her" the older said allowing him inside.

When she came downstairs with her daughter she embraced the fox lovingly.

"Hi Tails, what's going on?" the younger rabbit asked.

Tails nervously fiddled with his hands as he said "Well I came by because today is a special day…" her smile brightened so he continued "I got you something, it's outside come on" he waved leading to the front door.

He opened the door the two rabbits following, the younger excited and hopping slightly.

Tails then shouted "Hey you can come out now!"

Both rabbits heard a faint helicopter like noise as a little blue thing floated around the corner. Before either register what it was Tails said proudly "Meet Cheese 2.0. Or Robo Cheese"

Cream gasped eyes now twinkling "You made a new Cheese" she was quite sure to be excited or not.

"I've spent a few months working on him. Using every resource I had to get every scrap of footage of Cheese I could. So he's as close to Cheese as I could. Pus I added in an adaptive personality so he'll constantly learn from where he is"

As he spoke the small robot hovered to Cream like the real one would "Chao!"

The voice didn't sound metallic or robot, it sounded just like the original "Tails you did this for me?" she was touched as the idea grew on her.

"Well, I made him and stuff but back a few months ago Shadow helped me get the idea" he nervously spoke, the mention of his name dampened everyone's mood.

"Oh…" his girlfriend sighed.

"…Ya…. He would have been done sooner but… when Shadow went…. Well I just couldn't work on him for awhile" he frowned.

"It's alright, he's amazing" she said changing the subject back to something happier.

Tails smiled "You really think so?"

"Yes, he's almost identical, you got all the cuteness he had" she cheered taking the little bot and hugging him tightly.

Tails smiled so happy he actually started panting, he had been worried that Cream would be angry and say something like leaving Cheese alone and letting him rest.

Vanilla watched as the two continued to speak about his creation. It felt good to have a new face in the family again. For now it would tide them over.

Present…

Shadow smiled "Well I'm glad she took it so well."

The mother rabbit nodded in agreement and Shadow asked "So how are you and Vector?"

Vanilla smiled nervously "We are good… in fact he moved in a few months ago"

"Oh, wow, serious" Shadow commented.

"Yes… quite" she blushed.

"I remember the last time I saw you before I went for my long sleep. Totally wrecked by what Vector did to you the night before" he smirked knowing that would make her blush.

"Oh…" she blushed madly but frowned at the same time "That is the last time you saw me… had I know what would have happened would have…."

He frowned know what she meant "It's alright. Seeing you happy and relaxed with someone you loved was good enough for me" he soothed her.

The motherly rabbit smiled "Thank you Shadow…. Whatever happened in your coma, I'm glad it made you more caring and open" her happy smiled causing him to smile as well.

"Well when you come home we'll do something special, I promise" Vanilla said.

Shadow shrugged "It's ok, you don't need to"

"Yes we do. We all haven't seen you outside this hospital in over two years. It's happening so accept it" she said sternly.

He didn't want them using anymore money for him but he sighed "Fine"

"Good" the rabbit said getting up signaling she was leaving. They exchanged goodbyes but Vanilla did something he didn't expect. She leaned over and gave him a kiss on his forehead and said "It truly is good to see you back Shadow"

He smiled "Thanks Momma Rabbit"

She was about to leave but said "Oh and one more thing, I was just wondering "Would you… be ok with joining us Next time we do a family photo?" she looked really nervous.

He was more surprised, she wanted him in her family photo? She was basically telling him she considered him a part of their family and wanted everyone to know it.

"I…. I don't know… what to say" he breathed out.

"Well… think about it please"

He nodded so she nodded back and walked out leaving him alone with his thoughts.

Four days later…

Today was finally the day. The day Shadow would leave the hospital and make his not so glorious return to the world.

"Only a few more minutes, are you excited?" Chloe asked waiting with the dark hedgehog in the waiting room. All the paper work was done and now all Shadow had to do was wait for a friend to come along and take him home.

"Yes, very excited. Except I won't be able to see you anymore" he said to the female. Once he meant it in a friendly way.

"Oh I'm sure we'll see eachother again" Chloe waved off his comment though he come to like him as a friend.

"Hopefully" was all he could say.

Another few minutes and soon two friendly faces walked in. Shadows smiled seeing it was Amy and Sonic.

Amy jogged over smiled "Shadow" she hugged him lovingly as he sat there and almost choked him with it "You finally get to leave!"

Shadow grunted from her basically smashing into him and chuckled "Yes… I do… if you don't kill me"

She loosened up hearing him say that "Sorry" then nuzzled into him.

Sonic caught up "Hey Shadster, excited to finally leave this place?"

He raised an eyebrow at the name "Don't call me that, but yes I am"

"Man that was the best one I had thought of" he sighed now having to think of a new one.

Amy cheered "Come let's go!" he pulled the dark hedgehog to his feet, he barely was able to grab the cane they had given him. The sight made Amy frown, but it was better then him in a bed or a wheelchair.

He did his best to look like he didn't need the cane and only kept it because he had to, but in reality standing for long times was extremely hard, even to the point that his legs would shake and force him to sit.

"Well I guess this is goodbye" they heard a slightly somber Chloe say.

All three turned to the woman who had devoted two years of her life and risked her job and life to protect Shadow. There was no way any of them would let it be goodbye just like that.

Surprisingly it was Sonic who said it "Hey, why don't you come with us back home. We got another seat and we appreciate everything you've done over these last two years" his comments made Shadow smirk though nobody noticed.

The female was surprised and nervously replied "I'm sorry but I still need to work, I'd love but you know… work"

Amy shrugged "Oh come on you've never taken a day off since we met you I'm sure your boss won't notice. Besides you work in the ward where everyone is stable and not in immediate danger of spontaneous death. We can wait a minute, go ask him"

Shadow just looked to the female encouragingly agreeing with both of his friends statements.

"Well… I guess it wouldn't hurt to ask" Chloe said hesitantly. It wasn't that she didn't want to go. She just felt like she should stay, it wasn't like walking away and not getting a few papers done, these were real people who knew a schedule. She was so supposed to see them and talk to them and make them feel comfortable.

The three waited Shadow taking a seat for now to rest his legs. Amy sat next to him and snuggled up to him while he wrapped a arm around her. Despite the fact he was about to head home his face was emotionless. Although his two friends knew it was just an act, especially Amy. She could feel his gentle hand wrap around her shoulders.

He looked to Sonic and said "Smooth move Faker"

Sonic snapped out of a daze "Huh what?"

"You inviting her along. Come on that was a great idea" Shadow finally changed his face to a smirk. They both heard Amy giggle getting his meaning.

Sonic rolled his eyes "I was just being polite, if anything you should be the one asking her to come along considering how much you owe her"

Shadow laughed "Ya I would have, had you not so eagerly beat me to the punch"

Sonic sighed with a growl looking away his friends laughter continuing. Luckily for him Chloe came back quickly in more casual attire, he assumed that meant her boss let her go.

"Well apparently he thinks I deserve some time off too. There's a replacement for me now I guess we can go" she said nervously still.

Her casual attire was a light blue tank top and white jeans which Sonic stared a half a second longer then he wanted to before Shadow nodded "Alright, let's go. I's about damn time" he fake complained.

Amy helped him up even though he was confident in his abilities to do so himself and all four walked out.

Shadow walked slower then normal for obvious reasons so the trio kept pace with him. He was grateful for this and soon they got to the car. The same car he head fixed two years ago for Vanilla.

Shadow got in the passenger seat while Amy got in the driver seat. Sonic and Chloe got in the back and soon they were diving.

"So has the house Changed much since I left?" Shadow asked breaking the silence, surprising since he used to be the quietest of them all.

"Not really, except that Vector lives in there now" Amy explained "Oh and also Tails basically lives there now too except he leaves to sleep at Sonic place"

When Sonic said he was lonely he really meant it. He definitely needed a girlfriend.

"Ya or he's off working with his experiments in the basement" Sonic added.

Well as long as he isn't stressed over working himself he's fine" Amy finished.

Shadow listened. He was glad his younger friend was getting along so well and still sparing time for life.

To be totally honest there wasn't much else Shadow could think to speak abut, he had absorbed two years worth of information for the last week so he couldn't think of anything else to ask. So the ride was quiet after that as they drove up to Vanillas house and parked in the driveway.

Shadow got out, with some difficulty, but he wanted to do it himself so just before Amy had come around to help he was to his feet. She shot him a quick smile and grabbed his hand making him blush ever so slightly. She pulled him to the front door while Sonic stayed back and walked with Chloe. He could swear he heard him whisper something in her ear but he was too far away.

Amy opened the door and led him inside. The four walked inside silently, which surprised him because Vanilla would always say hi. He had expected her here since everyone knew he was getting out today.

He looked around and like Amy said the house was the same as it always was. His stuff next to couch like he had left, although neater then he remembered.

It felt quiet, too quiet. It made him tense and worry, his eyes darted around the room. He noticed that his friends seemed like they were waiting on something so he waited looking around.

Suddenly without warning all his friends burst from different places "WELCOME HOME SHADOW!" His heart skipped a few beats freezing and tensing up from the sudden volume and people.

Everyone was here popping from hiding spots. Tails and Cream had been hiding behind the couch. Vector and Vanilla had been around the corner leading down a hall with the majority of people. Espio decided to be a dick and turn invisible and yell it right beside him making the hedgehog jump. Silver and Blaze hid in the kitchen and now were behind them. Silver although held a banner in the air with his powers saying "Welcome home Shadow" on it.

Amy laughed at the frightened hedgehog "Calm down Shadow, it's a party"

Shadow sighed deeply trying to catch his breath. His legs were already shaking, but he still pushed the chameleon with what force he could muster "Asshole"

Espio just huffed amused with himself but gave him space.

"So… a party? You thought a party would be the best way to greet me back home?" he asked though was happy his friends went through all the effort just for him. He admittedly had spent little time with any of them besides Rouge and Amy so it really did surprise him.

"Of course we did Shadow" Vanilla said "As much as you may not believe us you truly are apart of our family. All of stopped by when you were in a coma and we all wanted to see you back. The time you spent with us may be short and you were mostly quiet but when things got bad you were there to help us all. You saved Cream from that castle along with Chocola. For that I owe you a personal debt" her genuine thankful attitude was enough to melt hearts.

Rouge stepped up next "Ya and even though we used to only see eachother for work but now we speak more often. I owe you a lot especially teleporting me away just before I nearly got blown away" she also smiled to him glad he was finally walking around again.

Sonic stepped in front of Shadow since he had been behind him "And we all owe you a debt twice for, first, not blowing up the planet when we first met. Second for saving the world from aliens. Also I owe you for helping me defeat Metal Sonic, had you and everyone else not distracted him my team couldn't have done what we did" he smiled showing some genuine thankfulness to him.

Shadow looked around the room finding everyone smiling to him. Almost everyone actually had a personal debt t him and he realized just how much time he had actually spent with them all. He had helped the Chaotix complete the goals during the black arm invasion. He helped Silver finally realize the error of his ways and made him fight for the real good. Helped Sonic numerous times for various reasons. He had helped Knuckles in directly, even though he may not have known it with Rouge. He had obviously helped Tails with his girl problem. Finally he had helped Amy find Cream and Chocola, plus he personally owed her a lot for changing his mind last minute to destroy the human race.

He truly felt the gratitude and smiled, a normal man might actually shed a tear but he wasn't normal.

Everyone waited, he had something he needed to say and nobody was going to let him move until he did. Knowing he couldn't stand forever he sighed slouching a bit on his cane and said "Alright…" he let a small smile sneak on his face "Thank you everyone, that's all you're get-!?"

He was cut off by everyone hugging him suddenly, he was now in a tight circle surrounded by everyone all embracing him.

He groaned in pain and also because it was a little tight "I'm really weak still… remember?"

Before he knew it everyone left and he feel have an inch to the ground and nearly fell from the small fall. He felt so weak and vulnerable still. He couldn't even drop half an inch without staggering to avoid falling down. He felt pitiful.

He covered up his concerns as everyone personally greeted him.

Silver said "Hey, so glad to see you up and about man"

Shadow nodded "It's good to be up and about, had I stayed there much longer I might just have fallen back asleep"

Silver laughed "Oh man, had I known your attitude would become like this after a long sleep I'd have knocked you out years ago"

Shadow gave him his normal scowl "Don't push your luck"

Silver shrugged "Worth a try" guess Shadow wasn't totally ready for jokes like that.

Everyone else greeted him and soon spread out to do whatever. Shadow was barely able to stand. He was forced to sit down once again doubts of his abilities coming to mind.

"I can barely stand for half an hour, what have a become… I mean I'm grateful for my second chance but… I may never be what I was before" he thought to himself. He was afraid… afraid? Yes afraid that he would be weak for a long time. It made him feel insecure and vulnerable.

He felt the urge to get a drink and despite his tired legs he went to the kitchen and poured some whiskey.

"Still a drinker I see" he heard a voice behind him.

He turned to see Amy, he hadn't realized it but she had been watching him since everyone parted. She could tell he had something on his mind. She'd talk to him about it later.

"Ya well, it's a party, so why not" Shadow shrugged not finding it wrong.

"I guess you are right, just don't over do it. You already can barely stand. And we don't want another Macho man incident happening" she giggled staring up at him since he was taller then she was.

"So any other surprises?" Shadow asked ignoring her comment.

Amy was about to say no but suddenly they heard Silver yell something from the living room.

"Hey guys! Come in here I got an announcement!"

Both hedgehogs looked to one another but went to the living room.

"What is so important you have to yell in my house?" Vanilla said mocking anger.

"Sorry Ms Rabbit… but… Blaze and I have an… well two announcements?" both he and Blaze looked very nervous.

Shadow remembered back when they came to his hospital room after he woke up. Silver was about to say something but she shushed him.

Blaze blushed "We don't mean to steal the spotlight from Shadow, as much as he hates it being on him but…."

Silver finished excitedly grabbing her wrist and showing a ring on her finger "We're getting married!"

Everyone gasped smiling but Shadow then asked "And the second?" making everyone wait in anticipation.

Blaze chuckled oh ya right… "I'm… cooking in my oven" it took a minute for everyone to realize what she meant and Amy screeched "You're having a baby!?"

Blaze blushed "Yes"

Silver said "I had been waiting for a good time to ask Blaze the big question but when I heard she was pregnant I decided that was when I'd ask. I didn't have the ring on me… it was in a secret place but I got on knee anyway and asked" Not very romantic huh?"

Blaze just laughed "No in hindsight it wasn't but hearing want to marry me after I dropped a bomb like that tells me exactly what he wants"

All the girls 'awww'd' at that making Silver blush madly.

Sonic patted the silver hedgehogs back "So finally got the courage to ask her eh? Just needed a third wheel to make it happen am I right?" meaning the baby.

"Ya well…. I wanted to show her I wasn't afraid and might leave her because of it so I just did it…." He said nervously explaining his actions.

"Ah well I think that means more to her then you think" Vector said "My super detective skills are telling me that staying after that announcement means more then a romantic moment" Vector smiled his big jaws. Despite his little experience in dating besides one girlfriend in the past and Vanilla he knew that Blaze was far more confident in in Silvers devotion now.

His comment made Silver smile and blush, it made sense that his actions meant a lot. Maybe he'd make a more formal romantic proposal in the future, like renewing vows but instead renewing a proposal.

With all that going on Shadow stayed in the back of group. He was definitely happy for the two, he had seen it coming, partially. He knew it would happen eventually but exactly when was the hard part. He just sipped his whiskey watching as everyone congratulated the couple and their soon to be bundle of joy.

It made him start thinking about his own life. He knew he loved Amy sure that was a given. But was it a love that could last? A love that was compatible for a long time. Love worked in strange ways and you may love somebody but it may not work out long term. Once again he was afraid he'd lose her, not because he wanted it but because she found out she couldn't stand him.

Love was like a drug sometimes, you fall for someone and spent tons of time together. But as time goes by the high goes away and you start to see your partner as they really are. That was the true moment of truth. That part nobody liked to think about, when the daze and flowers went away.

He sighed quietly to himself realizing that would come and on that day would Amy make the call to dump his ass?

He hated this sometimes, sure he was with Amy now and he was loving every day but he had no control…. That was it, control. All his life he was in control, mostly. Now he had no control of his life. He was basically still crippled, couldn't protect himself if he needed it. He'd missed two years of the world and was in a relationship that he felt could end any day.

By now everyone was dispersing besides Vanilla who was giving Blaze advice and Silver walked to Shadow "SO what do you think?" Shadow never congratulated him so he wanted to ask him too.

"Huh? What?" he asked coming out of his thoughts.

"So do you think this all ok?" he motioned to the ring on his finger.

Shadow quickly replied "Ya, I knew you two were good for eachother" he didn't say much else about it.

"Ya you think so… why do you say that?" he asked.

"You just work well together, you compliment eachothers personality. You are the go to action guy and she thinks things over. But you are also good people" he ran his mouth one sentence too long.

The white hedgehog smiled "Thanks man, I didn't think you noticed stuff like that"

"What do you think I do when I sit back and listen?"

"Ummm… brood and get all gothy about shit?" Silver joked…. Sadly for awhile he wasn't wrong, although he had gotten past that.

"Well I don't" Was all Shadow could say which made his friend shrug.

"Well anyway thanks, it means a lot" he smiled taking off to be with Blaze again.

Shadow just walked away quietly, his cane in one hand and his glass in another.

He saw Chloe kinda by herself, he had learned from their talks she was shy-ish in real life. Something about being a nurse and talking to patients was easy to her but outside the outfit and the hospital it was harder.

He shrugged and walked over, perhaps he could make her feel more welcome.

"What'cha doing all alone?" he asked the female taking a quick sip afterwards.

"Oh, Shadow, even with that cane you are like a ninja" she chuckled turning to him.

He let a small amused smile escape his face but asked again "Why you all alone?"

"Oh well…." She played with her hair "You know I'm shy"

"You know all these people though, they came in regularly?"

"We didn't talk too much remember?"

"Oh right… Well why not hang arund Sonic he was the one who invited you here?"

"Seems a bit clingy" she frowned rubbing her arm.

"I'm sure he wouldn't mind, he's so stupid sometimes it's an advantage" Shadow smirked.

She chuckled but said "He's not that dumb" supporting the blue blur.

"Maybe… maybe not"

Chloe sighed after "I feel really out of place here"

"As I said you know everyone and they all appreciate what you've done. I surely have" he smiled adjusting his stance for his legs.

She looks away nervously.

"Just go talk to Sonic" he said a bit sternly.

His sternness caught her off guard but like everyone else they knew you couldn't be offended. So she hesitantly walked to Sonic and they began to talk. Like Shadow predicted he didn't find it awkward and easily started speaking with the woman.

Shadow looked away giving them space and found his gaze on Rouge who was speaking with knuckles. Casually too, which had he not learned everything from the bat earlier he'd have been surprised.

He sat down nearby so he could listen…

"So how ya been Knuckles?" The bat asked.

"Pretty good, teaching people to hit is harder then you might think" he smirked.

"If you ever nee a demonstration I could come in and whoop your ass" Rouge joked around.

Knuckles rolled his eyes though smiled amused "I'll pass on that. But thanks for the offer. You do a lot of kicking and I teach boxing anyway"

"Why not change to kickboxing?" she replied "Then you could teach them to punch and I can teach then how to kick?"

"Don't you have a job at the paper?" Knuckles said stopping her pretty fast.

"… Ya well I can always drop it, believe it or not I'm pretty sure the hiring guy only hired me for how I looked" she shrugged, she had gotten used to it over the years.

Knuckles laughed and joked "Which is why I'm sure nobody would be listening to you anyway"

The bat crossed her arms scowling "Hey it's not my fault I'm so pretty"

"Guess it isn't" he shrugged with some tone in his voice Shadow nor Rouge could figure out.

"So do any good stories?" the echidna asked her.

"You read the paper don'tcha?"

"Only the comics" Knuckles shrugged.

Rouge laughed "How'd I know you'd say that"

"So you gonna answer the question?" he asked.

"Well it's not up yet but I am working on a scandal I learned about. One of the high ranking officials for our city is apparently having an affair. I'm still trying to get what I need so it can't be disproved"

"Always going for the big stuff eh?" Knuckles chuckled.

"You know it" she smirked.

"So, seducing anyone new?" Knuckles casually asked.

"Possibly" she hinted, Shadow smirked hearing that.

Knuckles looked away silently then asked "Why?"

"Because maybe I like him" her smirked came back again.

Knuckles not being the most subtle guy stayed silentl "Ah well… good luck" his arms crossed, his voice full of disappointment.

"Aww what's wrong Knucks?" she was amused but excited with her hopes high.

"Nothing just thinking" he tried to wave her off.

"About?"

"…Stuff" he grunted.

"Would that stuff involve… I don't know… a bat?" her voice coy.

He didn't turned but his eyes turned to her and suspiciously asked "What if they were?"

"Well are you gonna ask me who this man is?" she gave him a hint.

He looked thoroughly confused now looking at her straight on now "Why would I know him?"

"Oh very well" the bat smirked, one of the reasons she liked him so much was because he was kinda slow to get things, it was so cute when he finally figured it out himself.

"Uhh… isn't Shadow with Amy?" he said making the best guess his slow mind could make.

"Not him" taking a small step forward, he didn't notice since he as in such deep thought.

"Umm… Sonic?" he asked. He was single and available.

"Nope" she shook her head again getting close yet again.

"Uhhh…. Espio?" he asked picking his lower choices.

"What now, he's way too…. Ninja-ish" she tried to think of a word.

"Fine I give up, who is it?" he sighed slouching in defeat.

Rouge barely held back a giggle "Oh come on, there isn't another man you can think of in here that I'd be attracted to?" suddenly her face very close to his, so much so she could feel his breath.

He was slow on the uptake and went wide eyed realizing what she meant and blushed hard. SO hard it showed even though his red fur.

"It's about time you figured it out" she smirked again.

"I… uhhh… don't know what to…. Really?" he finally settled on the single worded question.

"Yes for real" she whispered seductively to him causing him to blush more.

"Aww you are so cute when you are confused" she laughed at him.

He still couldn't find his voice so Rouge just let him recover for a moment.

But her nervousness got to her "So… how does this make you feel?"

Knuckles looked down realizing what the bat was afraid of and said "Two years ago I probably would turn you down but now…. I kinda…. Think the same" he said, he had no idea why he was nervous after she just came out to him.

She smiled and asked "Really?" her hands clasps together excitedly.

"…Yes"

He scratched his dreds nervously.

She hugged him tightly like Amy would surprising Knuckles and Shadow. He had expected she would have gotten all seductive. Unknown either males since this was her first actual crush she was too excited and let her emotions take over.

She opened her eyes and stepped away and cleared her throat "Sorry" she too also realized she was out of character but the damage was done. She'd forever have this to live with. Whatever it was worth it.

Knuckles just said nervously "No it's right…. It was… nice"

Both blushed and stood there awkwardly for a moment, both their secrets out in the air now, neither really knew what to do now. Shadow rolled his eyes and took a page from Chloe and mimicked what she said to him and Amy "Just give eachother a kiss"

They snapped him realizing he was listening in and blushed, surprisingly it was Rouge who freaked out.

"SHADOW!? You know it's rude to eavesdrop"

The dark hedgehog scoffed "Coming from you theif" she couldn't respond but crossed her arms peaved off.

"SO… gonna take my advice, I know for a fact it will help" Shadow smirked smartly.

Rouge looked to Knuckles who was blushing madly "Well I… uhhhh"

"Oh come here you dumby" he said pulling him close, his face was a combination of shock, embarrassment and just general quirkiness.

The two kissed… well actually she kissed him and he just kinda flung his arms around the air so surprised and scared by her action he barely calmed down and kissed back a bit.

When they broke Rouge laughed at him but then with a worried expression asked "So….?"

"I… I…. I…. Liked it?" he said almost like a question, he wasn't lying he was just worried he didn't say it enthusiastically.

She smiled and hugged him tightly "Damn it finally took me long enough to ask" she said mostly to herself but loud enough for him to hear.

"Wait, you've been trying to tell me… how long?" he suddenly felt worried he came off as a bigger jerk to her then he normally worried he was.

"About…. Two years.. a bit more" she frowned feeling like a coward.

"What!?... Was… was that why you suggested I put defenses on Angel island?" Knuckles asking looking at her directly in the eye.

"Y-yes" she actually blushed, Rouge blushed, it was the apocalypse.

He paused for a long time worrying the bat, his stare was intimidating now. Even if it was his face he gave when he was thinking too hard.

"…. I'm sorry if I hurt you" he said mimicking himself from years ago.

The line pleasantly surprised the bat and wanted to say some kind of sarcastic remark but just said "It's alright, I know you. It's why I didn't give up for so long"

He smiled, he knew he was a difficult person sometimes and hearing her say she hadn't given up on him meant a lot to him. Now it was him to pull the bat into an embrace and just said in her sensitive ear "Ya we'll make this work"

Shadow watched with a small but proud smile on his face. He could tell Rouge was ecstatic considering a smile he rarely saw from her. Something told him she bagged a treasure besides gold and jewelry today.

He finally got up feeling his legs were better and left the two alone. Everyone saw but oddly like Shadow decided to say nothing. Considering knuckles were a nervous dude he might run away in embarrassment.

Amy caught up to him and said excitedly but quietly "Our plan totally worked, a really delayed action but it finally did" her smile was wide and bright.

The dark hedgehog found the smile infectious and smiled too "Guess it did" then took a sip of is drink.

"So what now?" she asked, it was his party after all.

"I think I'll sit back and see how my own personal plan is going" he smirked confusing her.

"What?"

Shadow pulled her away from the crowd "Sonic confided in me that he was lonely since Tails spends a lot of time with Cream and working on projects and said he might be ready for a girlfriend. So I'm working on getting him and Chloe together" he explained.

She gasped overly excited, especially considering her previous feelings for the blue blur "I'm so proud of your Shadow, playing matchmaker now" she hugged him giggling which made him blush.

"Yes I am, but it's an educated guess that Chloe likes him already" he added making her gasp again more seriously.

"Wait she does? How do you know?" she questioned.

"Well first clue was when I woke up and she told me who visited, not only did she name Sonic with his actual name instead of a description but she paused a barely noticeable blush came off her cheeks. Second whenever Sonic does visit she stays away unless her job requires it and is nervous talking to him. Third is simply a gut feeling" he smirked joking with the third. Mostly because he needed a third reason or it'd sound stupid.

"Wow"

"Ya you notice a lot of things when all you do is lay in bed all day, your mind finds any hints to anything to entertain itself" he explained.

"Well let's go take a look" she pointed with her thumb and peaked around the corner to spy on her former crush and nurse.

At the moment, Sonic and her were casually speaking with Tails and Cream. Now that Shadow had mentioned Chloe maybe liking Sonic she noticed a few things.

She watched Sonic almost the entire time, she was stiff looking and her general stance had the air of nervousness. She even chuckled at a few things Sonic said that weren't actually that funny. She really didn't care for his lame jokes.

Shadow was now peaking over his cane supporting most of his weight "You see it right?" he whispered.

"Definitely" she nodded with a mischievous tone.

"I'm sure ever since I mentioned him pursuing Chloe he's been a bit awkward around her too. Although less noticeable. I'm sure it's the reason why he asked her to come here before I did" Shadow whispered to her.

"You told him Chloe liked him, that's cheating" she hissed.

His ears curled back in fear and stuttered out "I-I didn't tell him, I said he should consider pursuing her since she's available and probably wants a boyfriend. See I can be vague" he defended, his words calmed Amy who accepted that as a much better push then flat out telling him.

Shadow had to lift himself up, the weight on his arm was a bit too much but Amy stayed and he asked "So got an idea? I was thinking we just push him into her, kinda like us in the garage" he smirked making her blush a bit remembering that.

"No too obvious, remember how it ended with us? Tails walked in and ruined the moment" then gasped realizing she revealed a bit too much.

"You felt it too?" he asked.

She blushed "… Yes"

"Wow… man could have gotten all the drama out of the way had Tails not come in" he joked.

"Might have saved a lot of time" she nodded in agreement.

She then asked him just before he was gonna say something "Hey… can I ask you something?"

"Of course Rose?" He would answer any question she wanted.

"When did you…. fall for me?" she fiddled with her hands not sure if he'd answer.

He surprised her by warmly smiling "I may have liked you subconsciously fr a long time but the day I thought to myself 'I'm in love with Amy Rose' was… I think when you fell asleep in my lap that one night"

"Really, why then, do you know?"

"Maybe because I finally had a moment to think…. You were on my mind a lot lately. And with you there… and playing with your quills" he blushed having said that "I just kinda figured it out" he explained still not sure how he figured it out.

Her smile warmed his heart which made himsmile back and asked "So…. When'd you find out?"

She hummed "I think I knew for awhile I liked you a lot, hence why I hung out with you a lot. I think when you pinned me against the wall right before we rollerbladed. Your breath on my neck…. So close" she shuddered remembering it.

He smirked and suddenly leaned against the wall her in between him and it was his pink beauty. mimicking what had happened before and asked "Kinda like this?" his breath on her neck again and shivered in response.

"Had I known this got you going I'd have done it 2 years ago" he smirked.

"Oh man, I wish you had your strength back right now" her meaning quite obvious.

"All in due time my love" he said pulling away, she had a disappointed face and pouted.

"You better recover quick" she growled frustrated.

He just smirked and got back to where they were at before "SO, ideas on Sonic and Chloe?"

Amy thought in a stereotypical thinking pose, finger rubbing her chin "Well…. I got nothing"

"You seriously got no ideas?" he asked disappointed.

"Not really" she frowned.

"Well perhaps Maybe doing nothing at this point is smarter. Sonic is bold enough to make moves on his own I guess" Shadow shrugged.

"You sure about that. Look at how he acted whenever I went all fangirl. He'd get nervous quiet and find any chance to run away. I know it's been two years since then but still" she reasoned.

Shadow nodded, she had some good logic and it worried him. The blue hedgehog was confident, maybe over confident sometimes but his experience with girls was…. limited.

The male thought "Well I've already planted the seeds in his mind… now how can we get the sparks flying?" he thought aloud tapping his temple.

His female partner also thought "Man the pushing idea really sounds like the best one we've got now" shrugging in defeat.

Shadow then peaked around the corner "Wait, he's got a drink… we push him and he gets her clothes wet, then he'll have to help her dry it" Shadows spoke aloud.

Amy laughed quietly "Umm Shad, that only works in movies remember?" hands on her hips,

"Half the stuff that's happened to us was like we were in some romance novel. I mean all the awkward moments, getting close to one another, the near perfect set up since I moved in. Hell me going into a coma strengthening my resolve and figuring out what is important" he explained chuckling a bit.

Amy laughed "Well can't predict lightning like that can you?"

"Guess not. If anything if we did that Sonic would get angry instead of get all apologetic" he growled with frustration not knowing what to do.

Amy snickered prompting him to ask "What?"

"Well… I remember how you acted towards Sonic years ago, so hostile. Now you are helping him get a girlfriend" her meaning clear.

He rolled his eyes "Ya well, maybe I feel like I owe him" he shrugged "He did risk his life for mine"

"Hey what about me?" she fake pouted.

"I thought we just got past this? I'll repay you when I get my strength back"

She purred slightly at the thought "I can't wait" then snapped out of it "Anyway, maybe we should leave them alone tonight, Sonic seems to be doing fine tonight by himself. I mean even if she is laughing at his lame jokes he is making her comfortable and kindly allowing her to talk to him for good while"

Shadow paused but eventually said "Alright, then we won't do anything else tonight. Perhaps Sonic requires a deaf touch"

Amy nodded "Mhm, so what do you wanna do now?"

He thought as he took a sip of his drink "Well…. What would you and your friends do at a party?"

Sonic suddenly snuck in and said "Well we could play twister, it be nice to see you and Amy in such an awkward position" he smirked.

Shadow growled "First off, shut up, second if you tried I'd do the same to you and Chloe. Third do I look like I can play a game like twister or more then five seconds. It'd be incredibly unfair"

Sonic shrugged "Fine have it your way. But don't lie, you'd enjoy that" his smirk much stronger now.

Before Shadow could say another word he was gone and back outside with Chloe again.

Shadow sighed in aggravation from the hedgehog and turned to Amy with a question face.

"Ok let me think…. We could tell Sonic to run home, grab his xbox and have a LAN party?" she suggested.

"What's that mean?" his gaming lingo non existant.

"Basically we connect the two xboxs together and play with eight people instead of four at the same time"

"Oh… sounds better then anything I got" Shadow said then yelled "HEY FAKER!"

Sonic walked in picking at his ear "Ok that was loud dude, even with the distance…. Besides I was busy" he gave Shadow a look since they both knew what he meant.

Shadow flat out laughed and said ruining the secret that wasn't really a secret anymore "Ya I'm sure, explaining your life story to your girlfriend is hard work"

The blue blurs cheeks went red "Hey that's between us" he hissed pointing to Amy who smirked glad to see Sonic was actually trying to woo Chloe.

Shadow laughed again "Damn she's known for about half an hour now. We were almost about to nudge you into her and spill your drink on her. But Amy talked me out of it" his evil grin appearing and making the other male gulp at the thought.

Shadow then went back to a more casual face and tone "Anyway, we need you to run home and get your xbox and… what was it?" forgetting Amy's words quickly.

Amy finished "LAN connect our and have a eight man deathmatch or something"

"Ya, give me a sec" he said put his drink down and was gone in a flash.

"He's one of the few people you can actually hear say that and really mean a few seconds" Amy joked but Shadow shrugged "Ya bet it applies to everywhere though" a dirty grin on his face.

"Oh crap…. Never thought about that before" but she shrugged it off as rush of air filled the room and Sonic was back.

"How long was that?"

"About ten seconds" Shadow said checking and imaginary watch on his wrist.

"Damn" he said wanting to beat a record he made a few years ago.

Amy shrugged and they followed him downstairs to help with connecting it to the tv and stuff. Although Shadow basically watched. In time they were done and ready and went upstairs to see who wanted to come down and join.

Tails, and Cream came both wanting to be on the same team. Silver joined though Blaze just watched.

Charmy also joined in. Amy forced Shadow to join. Finally Sonc joined and just before anyone could join Chloe said "Mind if we team up?" to the blue blur. Shadow was surprised but anyone could be a gamer.

"Uhh, sure" he said also confused but wasn't gonna turn her down.

Amy smirked "Hey why not play doubles then, consider thr… two of us are couples" she said saving herself last second hearing Shadow whisper something about making a nice save.

Everyone agreed although Sonic clearly caught her save as well.

Shadow quietly asked "Doubles?"

She whispered back "Basically kill anyoe that's not your partner. We'll both be the same colour and the other six will be one of three other colours. It's essentially a free for all with one partner" she explained so he'd get it.

They booted up a game and got teamed up. Sonic and Chloe took blue team, Shadow and Amy took red team. Tails and Cream too yellow and that left green for Silver and Charmy.

"Prepare to be beat!" Tails challenged confident he and Cream could win.

Sonic smirked "Just try to keep up with my reaction time this time" he smirked.

All eight spawned and the game began.

Right off the bat Silver yelled being stupid on purpose "Oh you saw me, gonna kill myself' then tossed a grenade at his feet and killed himself.

Charmy whined "What are you doing!?"

Silver laughed "I saw it on a show once, I promise it's the one time ok?" now they had negative one for his suicide.

The bee groaned and trusted he wouldn't do something stupid like that again and managed to get cream to make up for his death.

Shadow had to quickly get used to the controls again which were slightly different from borderlands. He died atleast twice before he had his bearings. Luckily for him Amy was able to make up with it by scoring three in that time.

Like Sonic had said his reaction time was faster then everyone and in a straight up fight he almost always won unless his opponent had a more powerful weapon. The only contender to his reaction time was surprisingly Shadow. His inexperience made the advantage useless.

Tails managed to jump Sonic with an air assassination. "HAH" he laughed

"No,no,no,no," he said since he was in a spree watching the animation pan out. Right before the neck snap a sniper round flew by and killed Tails.

"WHAT!?" the fox said surprised.

Chloe said calmly "Saved your life" as the text said as such.

"Chloe you are a goddess!" Sonic yelled out making her blush but also said "You're welcome"

Within ten minutes the score was close. Silvers suicide surprisingly didn't effect the two much. They were at 22 kills.

Shadow growled in frustration as the game stayed close. He was in the zone and had managed to make eight kills while Amy carried the ret adding them up to 23 out of 25.

Tails and Cream tied them also at 23, Sonic and Chloe were at 24 and on the prowl for their final kill.

Sonic said "We got this Chloe" his words encouraging her both smirking seeing the end in sight.

Shadow huffed "I think we should all team up on those two"

"That's cheating" Tails said narrowly avoiding a grenade from Charmy.

"If we all attack them at the same time we have a better odds of killing them both then finishing eachother off" to him he was willing to lose to the other four then Sonic.

Sonic though smirked "Ya whatever" and suddenly a bullet went through Shadows characters skull and the text said that Sonic had done it "Too late for plans cause we win!" he cheered as the screen faded away.

Sonic and Chloe high fived while Shadow growled frustratingly.

Silver shrugged from the loss and said "Good game"

"It was close" Tails said being a good sport.

"So champs go again?" Sonic asked Chloe seeing if she wanted to go again.

She nodded and everyone swapped out with anyone who wanted to try next.

The gaming went on for about an hour with Sonic and Chloe winning most of the time. Although the two times they lost it was because of a series of bad spawns and other bad luck.

Shadow after his game watched and flexed his hands. Once again his weakened muscles affecting him. He heard playing games helped the physiotherapy where the hands were involved so he considered playing them to help. He even considered getting a guitar but realized he'd probably forget to practice or leave it after he was back in shape.

Sonic finally said "Hey so anyone want to jam?" referring to one of the rock bands.

"I could go for that" Knuckles said wanting to play drums.

Shadow just shook his head "Not going through that again" which made everyone laugh besides Chloe. Sonic quickly whispered he'd explain later..

Tails was in calling Bass since he was sure Sonic was calling guitar.

Finally Amy got up decided to be the vocalist. Shadow wished her more luck then he had, although he was sure that her singing voice was better then his drunk singing voice.

Other guests either left to go talk in quiet away from the soon to be loud room. Shadow stayed to encourage Amy, and also because going back upstairs required a lot of effort.

The quad decided to jam to a few songs. They were good. Shadow mostly just listened to Amy. Maybe not perfect but her voice was amazing to him.

So time passed and Shadow spent his time with them. At one point he even took up Tails offer to play base. He sat down while playing but he still did ok. Despite him playing on a lower difficulty then everyone he was able to do a half decent job.

He wouldn't have admitted it but he was having fun.

Finally they all decided to call it quits and went back upstairs. It seemed like things were slowing down and people were getting ready to leave. Shadow was indifferent. He didn't really want to take anymore of their lives now.

Silver and Blaze were first to go, Silver had apparently started becoming such a baby sitter for his mate. He insisted Blaze go home and rest for the sake of the baby and herself. Despite Blaze's best efforts she couldn't sway him and they headed home.

Before they left Shadow and Amy both congratulated them on their soon to be union and future child.

Next was Espio and Charmy, apparently Vector and him were strict and made Charmy sleep early. Since Vector was staying for the night the chameleon and bee left by themselves. Amy thanked them for coming and bid them a safe trip home.

Next was Rouge and Knuckles. They hadn't arrived with eachother but they were leaving with eachother. The bat had her arm crossed with his.

"Come on Knuckie" she said using a newer cuter nickname.

"Knuckie?" he asked unknowingly about to regret asking.

Her smirk was bad as she said "Cause you're something I'd like to suck on"

Knuckles blush was intense as he heard Shadow and Amy laugh hysterically at him.

The bat just laughed but actually had no intention of doing such a thing any time soon. She wanted to take this all slow make him understand she wanted to make this work for real.

Although he stiffened up and she had to drag him a bit before his legs started moving again and the two disappeared into the darkness.

Last to leave was Sonic, Chloe and Tails.

"I'll see you tomorrow Tails" Cream said kissing him before hugging him. In the last two years the fox was more comfortable and stuff like that when people were watching didn't make him blush anymore.

"Of course" he replied back giving her a kiss on the cheek too.

Although Amy was speaking with Sonic and Chloe "Hope you had fun Chloe"

The golden retriever smiled "Yes I did. Sonic made it a bit easier for me to get talking" looking to him appreciatively for a moment.

Sonic flashed a grin to her "Welcome, I wouldn't want you to be a wall flower the entire time"

Shadow approached "Ya well, you better take her home" giving the slightest nudge.

Sonic barely held back a blush but said "Ya I was planning on that"

Chloe appreciatively tried to decline "Oh don't worry about me, I'm fine"

Sonic stood firm "No way, it's ten o'clock at night. Pretty girl like you is bound to attract some bad attention" mentally punching himself for mentioning she was pretty.

She nervously chuckled at his comment "Well… when you put it that way, I could use a ride"

"Alright, then it's settled, I'll walk you home. I don't live to far away and Tails can easily fly back by himself, right?" he asked the approaching fox.

"Ya sure, I got my key. I'll meet ya at home then" as he passed his fist bumped Shadow and Sonic, gave one last wave to Cream then flew off.

After that Sonic and Chloe said their good byes and walked down the road still chatting.

Shadow watched for a moment then closed the front door and turned to Amy "That wasn't as bad as I thought it would be" meaning the party in general.

The pink hedgehog smiled "Glad to hear" then sat on the couch.

Shadow did the same hearing Cream head upstairs.

"Good night you two" Vanillas kind voice said.

"Ya see you in the morning" Vector said following the mother rabbit upstairs too.

"Night, see you later" Shadow quietly said back.

He suddenly felt Amy hug him tightly "I'm so glad you're back" she slightly whimpered.

He smiled and wrapped a arm around her petite almost fragile feeling frame "As am I"

He could feel her smile and cuddle up to him more "Did you really mean you wouldn't leave?"

"Of course I wouldn't. I know what I want now" his mind finally clear.

She smiled but then he remembered something "Rose come with me, and bring a flashlight"

"What is it?" she asked surprised and bit disappointed he was done cuddling already.

"I promise it will be worth it" he smiled getting to his feet as she got a flashlight like he asked.

He went to the backyard, she followed.

He approached something he had forgotten about for a long time and asked for the flashlight to which she passed it over.

He turned it on and perfectly aimed it in the dark at what he wanted to show her.

In the beam was a rose, the rose he had bought over two years ago for her.

She looked confused for a moment "Ummm… when did this get here?" surprisingly nobody had noticed it there for two years. They were so used to the garden it just blended in.

Shadow chuckled "I planted it there before I went to sleep… and wanted to show you back then once it bloomed but then… you know. I think the reason I chose a rose is pretty obvious" it may not have sounded like he was pouring his heart out but for Shadow this was pouring his heart out.

His pink Rose smiled back at him "Shadow… you are so romantic when you want to be" her eyes sparkling even in the darkness.

He smiled blushing a bit "Ya well… I never had a reason to be until back then" it was hard to keep saying stuff like 'back then' because to him it was only a month ago.

"It may have been two years late but…. I planted it for you" he said softly.

He felt her hug him again "Thanks Shadow" then kissed him. He kissed back until they broke. All thoughts of weakness and vulnerability were gone from his mind when she was holding him like this. Like when she was with him he didn't need to feel secure and healthy.

He held her tightly but felt her yawn into his chest and said "You need your beauty sleep"

"But I like it right here" her muffled voice in his chest fur.

"Ya well it will be here everyday, you need sleep" he said again.

Her sigh was full of disappointment "Fine… but you owe me"

"Of course" he smiled down to her rubbing her back.

She kissed his nose making him blink then went back inside to head to bed.

Shadow watched her go inside then looked at the rose in the garden. He smiled and walked inside as well and soon was on the couch, after two years sleep he found a lot of comfort to be back in this couch resting.

 **Yo what up, took me a bit. Been so tired and stuff. Plus I find it incredibly hard to close a story. I will probably get this done in the nex chapter… at most in two.**

 **The joke I mentioned that was inspired by Blackpedals23 was the twister joke. You'd know what I was nodding to if you read her story "That city girl". So I just wanted to thank her for letting me do that (Despite it being kinda a stretch)**

 **Anyway hope the chapter was fun and I hope nobody is offended by Rouges flirting… it was a bit obvious.**

 **Anyway until next time and feel free to read some of my other stuff if you enjoy some other junk I write.**

 **Admiralkirk**


	17. Finally getting back on track

**A/N Alright home stretch, I just wanted to fill in a few things, tie up some loose ends and end with a good ending. So here it is, the end I really hope everyone enjoyed it because I had fun writing it. Besides this and the last chapter. As I previously said before I suck at finishing. I was thinking of doing another Shadamy with a different idea or maybe a different couple, like Silver and Blaze although those ones might be one shots. I was even thinking of doing a more tragic Shadamy but if I decide to do that I don't want to ruin it. Tell me what you guys think I should do in the reviews if you wish.**

 **Thanks for the encouragement 'nologinperson' I was thinking of ideas already so I may have something soon. I may even just do a whole story of self contained one shots cause doing lots of one shots fill your profile fast. Of course I separate them so one is specifically Shadamy comics or random stuff or whatever.**

 **Also to anyone who doesn't quite understand Rouges 'dirty joke' to Knuckles right before they left. My family used to call a pacifier a knuck. So Knuckles… knuck… she wants to suck on it… Ya I realized that word would be word for some people to understand so I just wanted to make that clear.**

 **Anyway thanks to everyone who reviewed and read thanks for the support and enjoy the final chapter.**

Shadow was slowly getting better now. He was getting stronger with every passing day and was generally a better person all around. He was more sociable, he spoke more and took jokes a bit easier then before. Although Amy joked that it was only because he was so weak right now and as soon as he was back in fighting shape his attitude would come back. He could quite say if she was right but he was happier like this. He was still very quiet, irritable and stubborn…. Just less so.

Unlike at the party he had stopped his attempts at nudging Sonic closer to Chloe. From what he heard from Tails Sonic was doing that himself. If not slowly. That surprised him more than anything. Sonic was always impulsive and quick to reach his goal but not this one. Atleast he knew the blue blur was afraid of something.

As for him and Amy they were great. Even the things that should annoy him that she does rarely did. It was actually cute when she did it. Like occasionally she would sit on his lap when he watched TV and refuse to get off. Since his strength wasn't fully back he couldn't really do anything about it. Course then he'd just bear hug her and make sure she couldn't leave.

"Hey let go" she giggled.

"Nope, you planted yourself here so you got to stay now" he growled playfully.

"No but that wasn't part of the deal" she played along.

"Ya well this is the new deal. You stay and accept the merciless affection I have to give" acting like it were a threat.

She groaned like it were a hard choice "If I have to"

He smiled and held her close, her back layed along his chest. His chin rested on her shoulder then kissed her cheek.

She smiled and cuddled back up at him and said "OH Shadow you really are a sweet guy when you want to be"

"I try my best, it's easier when it's just you and me" he nuzzled his cheek into hers and could hear her purr lightly and sighed happily.

After a short pause of silence Shadow asked "So got any plans today?" rubbing her stomach.

"I was gonna check on Blaze and see if she is handling her pregnancy ok" I had been about a month and a half since the party.

The dark hedgehog nodded "Good luck with tat, I hear pregnant woman are moddy. Considering she has fire powers I'm not gonna be there" his hard personality might spark a fireball.

She pouted but asked "So what are you gonna do?"

"Probably just sit and think. I got good at that in the hospital" he joked slightly.

Amy rolled her eyes "Ya whatever, have fun with that. Hey we gonna go for another test ride?" she asked. About a week ago Amy had surprisingly asked Shadow if he'd teach her to ride a motorcycle. In the two years he had been gone Amy had kept his motorcycle clean and ready. The bit of information she needed she found on the internet.

"Ya, if you want to ride later today we can pick up where we left off" he smiled leaning back at the couch, she followed since she was leaning against him.

He honestly found the idea of her riding a motorcycle kinda hot.

She cheered and smiled "So I better get going, I might head out shopping too, so keep yourself busy" she got up with a slight bounce. Shadow didn't want her to leave but he promised himself to try and not be too clingy and more importantly get jealous. He had no doubts that he had nothing to worry about with Sonic. He was interested in Chloe and Amy was definetly over him. Other men though… they scared him ever so slightly. But he choked back his pride and gave Amy the freedom she deserved. So far it had paid off. The most he had said about it was a joke that because he was a cripple he got pity points for her affection.

Either way he trusted Amy which was the important part. He knew his fear of other men was just paranoia and because his new self was still fragile any thing like her leaving him might put him back where he was years ago. Alone, cold and dismissing any type of relationship with anyone.

He really didn't want that, he liked his life now. The only thing he wanted more was to get a place again… with Amy. He truly appreciated everything Vanilla had done for him. She had become the closest thing to a mother he had ever had. He'd grown very attached to her so much so he had almost decided to stay here. The thought of living here much longer made him feel like a freeloader.

He'd brought it up before with the mother but she waved it off saying it was no trouble, to him it was.

He snapped from his thoughts back to Amy who was waving goodbye and shot him a blown kiss. He smiled, she did this every so often, Before he fell in love he saw people do it and found it annoying and childish but now he understood how they felt. He caught the imaginary kiss and trying to make her laugh and hear her enchanting voice wiped his face with the imaginary kiss. Making it look like he was a slob of some sorts.

He was successful and her giggle made him smile. He waved goodbye as she turned and turned on the TV.

His mind wasn't on it long, his life choices for the future were coming up. Would Amy agree to live with him, was he moving too fast? Was he making a right choice at all?

It confused him, it was easy when he had to choose a place just for himself but he wanted to be with Amy as much as he could. He had not spoke to her about this subject yet. He wasn't sure if she would come or stay here because this was her family. He wouldn't be angry with her just disappointed.

He had to speak to her soon about it.

His mind calmed down after that which allowed him to watch TV, he watched news for the weather and was happy to see besides one day it would be relatively good. After that he switched to a movie channel and found amusement in the stupid people in the horror movie. Reminded him of that day when Rouges stopped by to bug him. He chuckled at that memory.

Within an hour he heard the door knock. Nobody was home, Vanilla was at work. Which she actually switched from her old job to work as Vectors receptionist. Apparently it was horribly bad to be around when they got all flirty and role played like she was new in the office. He shivered at the thought.

Cream was off with friends as well, surprisingly Tails had not been apart of the group when she left, all girls. Must have been a girls day.

He got up, his strength was back enough that he no longer needed his cane to support him. He was able to walk without problems unless he went to a fast paced walk, but even then he'd only feel bad soreness. The problems came when he would job, that would quickly tire him and hurt his legs. It would essentially make the job useless cause he'd have to sit down.

He opened the door and found a blue face "Hey Shad, I was hoping you'd be home" It was Sonic and he greeted his dark opposite cheerfully.

Shadow nodded "Faker" the name was less of an insult and more of just a friendly nickname now "What do you want?"

His question was a bit blunt but then again he was Shadow "Just wanted to talk a bit man"

Shadow shrugged and allowed him through.

"Thanks" he heard him say as he closed the door.

They stayed quiet as Shadow went to the fridge and silently gestured as an offer to get him a drink.

"Ummm, just some ice tea if you got it"

Shadow got some out and poured a glass for himself and the blue hedgehog. His arms were also much better now, he could lift stuff and not get fatigued or sore. Although that was with items that were relatively light.

"Thanks" Sonic said again as he took the drink.

"So what'd you wanna talk about?" Shadow asked walking to the couch and dropping the volume of the TV.

Sonic got nervous now as he sat down too. He took a breath "I need your help"

Shadow eyed him. How could Sonic need his help? Not only was he kinda useless right now but Sonic rarely asked for help if he needed to take a breath to ask it. Although beside all that he found slight amusement at the idea of Sonic needing his rivals help.

"Depends on what you need" he took a sip of his drink.

Sonic took another breath looking away and slouching forward a bit "Well… you probably have figured out that I like Chloe…. "

Shadow smirked, he had called it. He acted weird around the female. His whole plan was finally coming together, he had hardly done anything to be honest. He more or less just got the idea in Sonics head and the blue blur had basically done everything himself.

He just nodded allowing Sonic to continue.

"Well… I want to make amove, a real move. More then just hang out" he explained. How could it be so hard to say 'ask her out on a date'?

"Then do it" Shadow said. If only he had that advice two years ago.

"Well maybe I'm scared" Sonic growled. He knew full well tht Shadow knew how he felt but the advice was annoying.

Shadow shrugged "Ok then… don't" his smirk annoyed the blue blur further.

"I'm serious Shadow… I think I…"

"Love her?" Shadow finished.

"…Ya" he mumbled.

"Then do something. I know how you feel. She likes you a lot, I can tell. She enjoys your company, I'm sure she'd give you a chance if you asked" his words were now encouraging. Very helpful and cleared his mind. They really put things into perspective, he knew Chloe liked him a lot as a friend too so he had that going for him.

Shadow almost said something about how she couldn't resist him anyway since he was Sonic. Although he didn't because he too understood what it felt like to have girls like you on name alone.

"Thanks… that does up my confidence" Sonic said smiling a bit and drank his drink.

"Trust me, I know how much those words help" he mumbled.

They were both silent and Shadow needed to talk about something himself, he needed a second opinion.

"Sonic?" he asked, the use of his real name meaning he was serious "I've been thinking about moving out…. And I… want to ask Rose to come with me"

Sonic looked to him and after a short pause said "Have you spoken to her about it?"

"No" he said quickly.

Sonic nodded to this "When will you ask her?"

"I was hoping sometime tonight"

"Well good luck" Sonic said to him.

He just grunted back in response.

"So what else is going on?" Sonic asked.

The dark hedgehog thought "Not much besides that. Haven't heard much from anyone else. Amy wanted to go check on Blaze, that's about it"

Sonic thought asked "Hey you aren't busy right now right?"

Shadow looked to him "Does it look or sound like I'm busy?" his question clearly rhetorical.

Sonic rolled his eyes "Wanna come to my baseball teams practice?"

Shadow raised an eyebrow at that "You want me to be around little kids?"

The blue blur shrugged chuckling "Hey you're the one without any plans, plus the kids keep petering me wanting to know about my friends. They've met just about everyone of them besides you"

Shadow looked at him like he was stupid "Ya but you realize I'm supposed to be dead, kids can't keep secrets to save their life"

"Come on Shadow, they wanted to meet you badly… I mean I told them you were dead but some of them have faith" Sonic explained to him.

Shadow just growled "No"

"Come on please man, I'll make sure they don't spill anything, they are good kids" Sonic whined clenching his hands together in a begging manner.

Shadow growled again , he knew the stupid hedgehog was persistent so he would either have to go or try to ignore him. Plus usually he could threaten Sonic which would make him go away, but Sonic clearly knew he could drag Shadow anywhere right now.

"FINE!, We'll see them!" he shouted.

"Yes" Sonic fist pumped "Now I can finally make them stop asking me to see you" ever since he had started working with the kids they had wanted to see Shadow, even when he said that Shadow was dead some still believed.

The dark hedgehog just rolled his eyes and they watched TV for another hour before heading out. The blue blur went to his car outside and grabbed his couch clothes and soon came out of the bathroom with a blue hat, blue, white and black t shirt. On the back it said his name and his number was zero. Shadow was surprised the blue blur hadn't gone with number one.

Sonic drove Shadow there and soon they were at the park. Walking to the field he could see some of the kids were already here. It had become some weird game for his kids to beat him to the parks so they could gloat that they were technically faster then he was.

Shadow got out of the car, his cane still in hand. He didn't walk with it though. He just carried it holding it at the middle instead of the top. Never know when somebody might run into you by accident.

As they approached he waved "Hey guys, good to see ya!"

"Hey couch Sonic!" the kids cheered back. From what Shadow could guess they were in grade 7 and 8.

Nobody had quite noticed the dark hedgehog yet. He waited cross armed listen as Sonic started speaking.

"Alright guys, remember what I said last game, what do we need to work on?" he asked the kids seeing if they were humble enough to remember.

Most didn't seem happy that he asked but said "Catching" it was easy to catch a pop fly as long as the sun didn't glare into their face. But a more direct hit like trying to catch in the infield. It was mostly just fear of getting hit.

"Good, and not as big of a problem but got to also judge when to hit, like will it be a ball or strike?" Sonic said, he knew that was much harder to do, since that required split second thinking.

His kids nodded at this. Only now di they notice the dark hedgehog standing there. It was mostly because he didn't mov so he kinda awkwardly stood their in their eyes.

Sonic noticed the looks and also turned to his patient friend "So guys… this is my friend. I wanted to show him to you for awhile"

Nobody seriously thought it was Shadow, sure they had hope but what would make things change so suddenly?

Shadow walked forward before Sonic could say more. He took the initiative "I'm Shadow the hedgehog"

Their eyes brightened, the one boy, who was just a puppy said "You're Shadow… but Couch Sonic said you were dead?"

Shadow smirked "The rumors of my death are… greatly over exaggerated" he had always wanted to say that. But then he added "But you need to keep this secret. For if anyone knew bad things will happen, people could get hurt or die… I don't want it to happen again" he his vagueness intrigued the kids who all wanted to know what he meant by that.

Sonic chuckled and was once again about to speak when Shadow said "I mean it!"

They all nodded, they didn't want people hurt.

"Hey Shadow did you want to join in on our practice?" another boy asked.

"I can't really move fast. Sonic never told you this but I've been… asleep for a long time, my muscles don't quite work the way they used to right now" he explained slightly embarrassed. These kids knew the stories of him defeating entire alien armies but now he was just some weakling.

All the kids frowned but Sonic said "Hey, I bet we can include him somehow, now everyone get ready, I'm gonna start hitting balls out to the field".

Shadow felt the recognizable feeling of being left out of things. Not for the reason of his choice or that people purposely didn't ask. No because he physically wasn't able to. It Only made him feel worse, why did Sonic drag him here again?

He took the opportunity to get off the field incase Sonic sent a ball at him and sat down on the bench in the small square they called a dugout.

As he looked out at the kids having fun with Sonic he sighed. A little bit of jealously came up. Not only could he not join them now but he never had a chance to do the same as a child. He knew it was useless to look back and regret but it was something he hadn't been able to experience. To be a child. Perhaps that was one of the reasons he was so cold. Normal kids got years to be kids… he had days with only one friends and more then half the time he had as a kid was spent under experimentation. Nobody knew it but he had a few very well hidden scars. Patched up so well that you couldn't see them from under his fur.

He ran a hand along his side feeling the very subtle line as he did.

He was taken from his thoughts hearing another kid walk in to drop his stuff off. A little late but still pretty much on time.

He paused to look at the man he'd never seen before "Who are you" Shadow liked the child bluntness.

He looked up to see it was a hedgehog like himself. A quick look over him revealed the boy was brown furred, his eyes were blue, strange color combination to him. His quills were fashioned a lot like Knuckles, just shorter. He wore the same uniform as the other kids the blue jersey. His number was 11 and his name on the back was Kyle.

"I'm a friend of Sonics… can you guess who I am?" he wanted to see if his appearance held up.

The boy thought for a moment "Ummm… hedgehog, black fur with red with it too… hmmm. Only one person I know that looks like that and knows Sonic. You're Shadow the hedgehog?" the young hedgehog smirked.

Shadow smirked back "Good deducing" he complimented "Yes, I know I'm supposed to be dead. You better not tell anyone, because if you do. Bad things happen. People get hurt" he repeated his warning to Kyle.

"People get hurt?" he asked "Just cause people know you're alive?"

Shadow chuckled, of coure the boy wouldn't understand "Do you remember the incident two years ago when the bad part of town had a military operation and then everything exploded?" he knew it had been big news.

"Yes?" the boy asked hesitantly.

Shadow looked away and said "What I'm about to tell you needs to be a secret. The government thinks I died that night. They tried to capture me for their selfish reasons. I didn't them. I made the explosion" he growled a bit angrily at the memories.

The boy went wide eyed "You did that… how'd you control it to not kill anyone inside the buildings?" that had been a big mystery nobody had been able to figure out.

"To be honest I don't know. Either from willpower, or because I was slowly bleeding out" he shrugged.

Kyle frowned "How'd you make it?"

Shadow looked up to Sonic, a small smile forming "My friends, they came last second and got me out… fast enough to save me but not fast enough to keep me from going into a coma for two years… I only woke up like a month and a half ago" he explained to the kid.

"That's why Sonic didn't tell us? Because you were asleep that whole time?"

"And because if anyone knew I was in that hospital then the military would have found out they'd have tried to kidnap me" he added.

"Why would they do that?" Kyle asked.

"Has Sonic explained that I'm immortal and immune to all diseases?"

"no"

"Well that's why, they wanted the secrets I had" He nodded. He had no idea why he was opening up to the kid, perhaps he just liked the kid.

"Anyway get to your practice"

"Why don't you come along?" Kyle asked.

"Because even if I could muscles through the soreness my heart still needs to recover too"

"Oh" he frowned, like the rest of the kids he wished the dark hedgehog could participate.

"Go have fun, I can watch from here" Shadow said trying to be nice.

"Ok, but I bet you could atleast throw balls a bit" he shrugged before leaving.

Shadow just watched the practice continue, the team doing their drills and Sonic being a kinda, encouraging and patient couch. He really did change a lot in the last two years. Had learned how to be nice and patient. His competitive edge was mostly gone now too.

Sonic told the kids to take a minute and walked to the dugout and looked through the fence "Enjoying yourself in their?" his question was rhetorical in nature.

Shadow looked away not wanting to answer.

"Listen Shadow could you atleast try to participate. The kids have been watching you the entire time hoping you'll get off your butt and do something"

"What can I do, tell me? Cause from what I know I can barely manage a light jog, and my heart can't do much either" he said. His low self esteem in himself showing badly.

Sonic saw it, it had been the reason he brought him here. Amy complained that the dark hedgehog was scared to do anything in fear he'd fail and show how weak he was. "Come on Shadow, you'll never know what you can do until you try, if you don't keep working at it you'll never be where you were before"

Shadow didn't speak for a long time but Sonic quickly added "There's an extra glove in my bag if you change your mind" turning around and getting back to his team.

Shadows fists clenched, he wanted to show them he could still atleast do something, but was afraid his legs might give out or worse is heart.

He looked up at the field trying to assess what they were doing. Like Kyle had said they were now just catching, throwing balls. Either to work on hard catches or make their aim better.

He slowly got up and looked in Sonics bag. Like he said inside there was a glove in there. His old one too. Worn, and ripped in a few spots, the patting was nearly gone, but it was easily opened and closed helping his fingers. He slipped on the glove to his left hand and stood up. The dark hedgehog walked out and punched the inside of the glove before walking out onto the field.

Sonic noticed and smiled, guess he did have the capacity to try and get better.

"Alright guys, I got an idea. Everyone get into a line, we're gonna be throwing to Shadow" the kids noticed him approach and their eyes lit up.

They quickly made a line as Shadow got ready to catch and tested his glove hand quickly.

He took a gulp as the first boy got ready. The ball left his hand and soared through the air the aim wasn't perfect, flaying to right at his left shoulder instead of his chest. What felt like a hard catch to him seemed pretty simple. His instincts took over as they had in the past and caught the ball closing the glove as well.

He smirked that small moment of instincts gave him all the confidence he needed as the next boy stepped up.

In time he had caught several balls from all the kids, a small smile was on his face too. Seeing the boys all smiling and happy seeing a hero like him made him feel good. He didn't like admiration, but this was different. He felt like he was just making their day by being here.

He could tell Sonic was thinking the same having looked to his left for a moment seeing the blue blur smiling at the scene too.

Eventually his arms did tire from throwing and catching. He persevered through the last two few catches and throws to everyone got even turns. He tried not to show that he was feeling weak and said "I think that's enough for me"

The boys all groaned wanting to have more fun with the hedgehog but unknown to Shadow Sonic had warned them all to be nice to him.

"Be happy I came out at all" he said being his normal self, though his smile revealed he was joking.

"You heard him, he's worked with you guys, now let's get back to drills, only got half an hour left" Sonic guessed Shadow was sore or tired and covered for him.

Unknown to Sonic the dark hedgehog appreciated it a lot.

The parents came to pick up their respective kids. The team said goodbye to Shadow who in a kind mood said goodbye to each as well. He may not have known their names but he still made the effort.

Once everyone had filed out to their cars Sonic asked "Thanks Shad, really means a lot that you came"

"Don't mention it, but they seemed to think I really was dead so thank you for keeping me a secret"

Sonic smiled "Your welcome, I didn't go through half a day trying to find you, surviving a warzone and putting my money into keeping you alive to have someone take you away" It was that moment Shadow knew that despite all their differences, past and conflicts that Sonic truly cared for him. As did everyone else. They may be rivals from the day the blue blur dies but he'd know it was a friendly rivalry. Didn't stop him from wanting to ring his neck sometimes when he was annoyed by the blue blur.

"Well Sonic, thanks for bringing me out here, it really did pass the time a bit"

"Your welcome… you will eventually ask Amy to move out with you, right?"

Shadow took a breath and nodded "Yes I shall speak to her tonight"

"Good… Shadow?"

The dark male looked to his friend, the tone of his voice sounded different "Ya?"

"Just wanted to thank you…. for telling me just what I had done to Amy all those years ago. I have to admit that I had no idea until you used the word neglect" he looked down arms crossed defensively "I've changed a lot since then, you were the only one to ever tell me exactly what I did to her. For that I'm thankful, you are a good friend"

Shadow was silent before saying "I have seen the change, if only slightly so far. I was angry back then, but I'm glad you took my words to heart" he smiled to the blue hedgehog but quickly made it leave. He still had a reputation to up hold.

"Thanks Shadow" was all he heard from his rival who was now packing up his stuff so they could go home.

During the time while they were heading home neither spoke. Sonic found it awkward and asked something he had been wanting to ask since he thought of this practice idea "Hey Shadow, I was thinking. Maybe you could come to practice with me more often. I mean the kids liked you and when you get your strength and stamina then maybe you could help me out"

Shadow looked to him "Ummm, you realize I'm not a kid person, right?"

"Didn't look that way to me" Sonic smirked For a moment I saw you smiling, having fun and bringing smiles to their faces"

His passenger rolled his eyes "They are also eighth and seventh graders, way different then toddlers and babies"

Sonic smirked again "So you are saying you can bare being around them? Even have fun?"

He groaned but mumbled "Yes"

"Alright then it's settled, you are now my assistant coach" he laughed.

Shadow growled "No, I'm not your assistant, I'm your co-coach" it didn't really change anything from the name but assistant sounded a bit demeaning, atleast to him.

Sonic sighed "Fine, you whiner, co-coach"

Shadow nodded but then asked "So you keep asking me hen I'll talk to Amy about moving out, when you gonna commit and ask Chloe on a date, like a real one?" he only added that because a few days ago Amy wanted a date, not just a date, a double date. Just to see how it was like. So, Shadow, working on his plan to get Sonic and Chloe together asked if they wanted to join them.

After that he never did anything to push the date aspect, they were just there enjoying eachother company while Amy and himself watched. He had specifically promised to have another double date with them, to Amy, once they were officially together.

"Ya well…" he paused "I don't know exactly"

Shadow inwardly sighed "How can such a fast stubborn and confident hedgehog be this afraid to ask a nice girl out?" he thought to himself.

He spoke aloud "Well do it quick cause I'm sure a nice girl like her has some other people eyeing her"

Sonic looked down for a moment thinking on his words, although looked back up occasionally to keep his eyes on the road. Shadow knew that hit him pretty good. He had a competitive spirit despite how much he said he changed, the idea of another potential suitor being out there might motivate him to beat this possibly real person to the punch.

"Fine, fine… I'll think of something" he said with determination.

A smirk crawled up Shadows cheek, oh how it was so great to know psychology.

"What would you do for a first date?" Shadow continued, if he had him rolling now maybe he could get the hedgehog really start planning. He had no plan after asking Amy to be his girlfriend which might have been yet another contributor to why he backed off so suddenly.

"Well, dinner is always a good one" thinking of a pretty cliché and simple idea.

Shadow laughed "Yup, I'm sure such a boring idea will make it work out… especially since you've been out for dinner with her already, remember out double date?"

Sonic flinched, first from his comment on how easy it was but then at the double date "That was a double date!?"

Shadow chuckled "Yup, Amy wanted one and I decided t bring you two, anyway think of something else"

Sonic sighed frustrated but couldn't seriously think of anything else.

Shadow rolled his eyes "Isn't Twinkle park having another one of those promotional days where couples get in free…. I only know that because Amy has been pestering me about it" he suggested.

Sonic hummed trying to think about it "Hmmm… does she likes amusement parks, does she like rides… even if she doesn't there always the easier rides and games… bet I could win her something" all of this was mumbled to himself. Shadow could hear but just sat back as his friends mind worked.

After another minute of listening to Sonic mumble to himself "Alright, I'll do it, when's the date?"

"Five days from now" Shadow said picking at his nails.

Sonics courage clearly dropped "That soon?"

"Mhm"

"Shit… that means I'll have to ask today or tomorrow to give her some proper heads up"

"Yup"

"Any suggestions… you know for the date?" Sonic asked him only because he apparently had experience.

"Why ask me? I've been on one actual date with Amy which was that double date and I had you two to distract her from myself a bit" he honestly was a little insecure that Amy might find him boring or slowly find him to be a jerk and leave him. It was very small but it was greatly amplified for some reason during that date.

"Don't put yourself down like that, remember you spent a lot of time with her before you even started officially dating. She told me about how you taught her to skate, smooth move by the way, or that you drove her to work every night. She has also told me how open and nice you get when you two are alone. She likes you a lot man and she knows there's more to learn still"

Shadow looked back at him shocked at how encouraging the hedgehog was, but also at how much Amy held him. Apparently he was amazing, nice and caring. Guess he still thought he was that guy from two years ago still.

"Thanks… anyway as for any advice I could give is be yourself. She likes you for who you are and how she knows you are right now. If you want to show something new it better be real, and if you want to get into closer stuff like more private parts of your life keep it slow. Don't do anything to fast. I'm pretty sure this will be her first experience with a boyfriend so you'll both need to take it slow" Shadow explained then added jokingly "Know you taking it slow will be hard"

Sonic snorted at his joke but added "Thanks"

Shadow just re-iterated "Remember, be yourself. I may not have realized it back then but things slowly just happened, neither Amy nor I saw it coming but we just got close and it happened. Hell the moment I realized I feel in love with her was when she fell asleep on my shoulder on the couch" he revealed an intimate moment.

Sonic really took his words to heart, it surprised him that Shadow had made a jump without a definite reward or answer at the other side. He never did anything unless he knew he'd get something out of it. He definitely went out of his comfort zone to ask that big question two years ago.

"Alright thanks…. I think I can work with that for now… thanks, like for real man" he said total genuine thanks in his voice.

Shadow couldn't help but smile slightly "Your welcome"

After that the ride was quiet until Shadow got home. Sonic waved goodbye and drove off letting the hedgehog go in by himself. It looked like nobody else was home consider there were no cars in the driveway and it was about 1 o'clock.

Shadow walked into the house with the key Vanilla had given him. Instantly upon walking into he felt something was off. A stench he recognized though couldn't pin down. Nothing was out of place though, just the smell. He followed it inside finding it slowly get stronger as he approached the back of the house.

After some experimentation of finding which way it stronger he found it came from the backyard.

Opening the sliding door he found what he had been looking for. Standing the backyard was an old friend he hadn't seen in two years, the last of his friends to finally see him smell clearly coming from his metallic body.

"Omega?" Shadow said catching the robots attention, although he was still ready for anything. Last time they met it wasn't under the most friendly of circumstances.

"Shadow, it is good to see you awake" he said, his voice metallic like always. Although his voice also seemed to have some tone to it, that heavily surprised the hedgehog.

It was quiet for a moment until Shadow finally said "So…. It's been a long time"

"Yes it has" the robot said not moving from his position.

"Why are you here?" Shadow asked, did he know he'd been in a coma like everyone else or did he just find out. He'd never asked anyone if Omega knew anything.

"To see your condition" Omega said again that tone appearing in his monotone voice.

"You helped them shoot me" Shadow suddenly snapped "You knew what was going to happen and let it happen!"

Omega didn't say anything prompting Shadow to yell again "SPEAK TO ME YOU HEARTLESS MACHINE!" definitely some pent up anger he had yet to release for the betrayal.

"I a sorry… I had no choice though" it said a depressed tone escaping its speakers.

He stopped "What?"

Omega made a sigh like sound "Had I not complied they would have deactivated my body and changed my programming"

Shadow looked at the robot, he may not understand the full extent of what that could mean to him but the idea of having his entire goals changed, and losing your memory probably in the process was familiar to him.

"How?"

The had an EMP charge strapped to chassis, had I disagreed the general would have shut me down. As soon as the chaos started and the pink hedgehog smashed his screen I was temporarily free. With him unable to see what I was doing I got away from your friends initial attack. I deactivated the charge then came back to help" the short story explaining his actions during the fight.

"So… you didn't want to do any of that?" Shadow asked loosening up hearing his story.

"Affirmative, you have been hurt by the humans before. Further distrust would only make you worse. I tried to change their minds but they wouldn't listen. Only the general agreed but his strong ideals for the service made him unable to act on them" he almost seemingly slouched as if he were depressed during his speech.

Shadow could tell there was another reason for wanting to help him. The robots slouch and new tones in his voice gave it away. He guessed over the years either Omega had grown more of a personality and was starting to experience emotions. Only getting closer to be a true person.

"I'm sorry for doubting you Omega" Shadow apologized.

"It is alright, my actions gave no indication of my allegiance"

Shadow then finally asked "Did you know I was in a coma?"

"Affirmative"

"How?"

Omega explained "After you teleported us out…" that confused them both, apparently Omega protecting Shadow at the last second gave him just enough of a reason to save him too "I watched your friends run to see if you had survived. I monitored all the hospitals systems for a patient matching your wounds. I found one, which was your name. The report was the relatively the same time of the incident, you were saved by a fox and the wound matched yours. Finally it said you had slipped into a coma"

He definitely was a smart robot, he was sure the only reason the military hadn't found out was because unlike Omega there was nobody to confirm he had survived his own blast consider all of them had been vaporized.

"You never told them?" the hedgehog asked.

"Negative. After that I cut all ties with them, without the EMP device they had no hold on me" Omega said with a slight happiness in his voice along side anger.

"Thank you Omega… I truly do appreciate all of that… So what have you been up to the last two years?" Shadow asked, he wanted to learn how Omega had survived since his near death experience.

"I am still a mercenary, still working to make my company competitive with Eggmans… it's hard to convince business man to trust a war machine" it sighed.

Shadow chuckled "I'm sure it is. I'm sure things will work out for you though"

Your encouragement is appreciated" Omega said.

Shadow then smirked "Still a dancer?"

The robot stayed quiet though the question made him chirp awkwardly "I have no recollection of what you are referring to"

Shadow smirked more "Don't lie to me, when I asked Rouge what you had been up to before the attack she mentioned you had taken up dancing"

The machine made a growl like sound "Yes I dance" he obviously wanted Shadow to leave him alone about it.

"That's all I needed to hear" Shadow chuckled.

After that they spoke more of past events, Shadow explained his relationship with Amy. Knowing all that cleared up why she smashed the generals screen allowing Omega to free himself. In a way Omega owed his freedom to Amy.

But as time went by Omega said he had to get to other business and took his leave. Shadow smiled, Omega and him didn't get along sometimes but he was glad that the robot never wished any ill will on him.

With that done he went back inside and watched TV until somebody came home.

Like he expected it was Amy "Hey, how were Silver and Blaze?"

"They were fine, Blaze is just barely starting to get a belly now" Amy explained taking her shoes off.

He nodded at that "She in the crazy stages yet?"

"A little, maybe just a bit irritable at the most" she shrugged.

"That's not too bad, I bet all the anger is specifically from Silver I guess" the white hedgehog was not the easiest guy to live with.

"Ya for sure, apparently he's been joking about how she'll get fat over time"

"Hopefully he also adds that he'll love her anyway" He knew that was what was important.

"Sometimes" Amy giggled "So what you been up to?" sitting on his lap like before.

"I just came home" he lied, he'd been here an hour since Omega left I was out with Sonic, he dragged me to his practice forced me to be his co-coach"

Amy giggled again at him "Awww Shadow you working with Kids, that's adorable" she used baby talk which only made him feel more embarrassed.

"It's better then sitting around with nothing to do" he shrugged trying to play it cool, had his blush not been there he might have gotten away with it.

Shadow then continued "So Sonic asked me for advice on Chloe"

"Oh what'd you give him?" she asked eyes gleaming.

"I suggested maybe he should go to Twinkle park as their first date" he wasn't afraid to tell her stuff like this, although he wouldn't anyone else to hear about it.

"Hey you took my idea!" she crossed her arms.

He laughed "Ya but we're going too, aren't we?" he kinda didn't want to, the crowds, lines and noise annoyed him.

"Oh so now you want to go?" she smirked.

He shook his head amused "I never said we weren't going, I only said I didn't want to go. But if you want to I can't really argue can I?" it was his way of saying he loved her too much to deny her a good time.

"Oh it's gonna be so fun, the cotton candy, rides… man I wish is was Valentines because then they open the tunnel of love" she pouted at that one.

Shadow also didn't like the idea of the tunnel of love but she'd always wanted to go in from what she had mentioned before. Besides how bad could it actually be? "We'll go during valentines alright?" he promised.

She turned and hugged him "Thank you Shadow" she also knew Shadow could care less but promising they would was enough for her.

Finally Amy realized what Shadow said before "Wait Sonic is actually gonna ask out Chloe, for real now?"

"Mhm" the dark hedgehog smirked.

"You are so clever" she smiled.

"Don't have to tell me twice" he gloated folding his hands behind his head.

"So we double dating with them again?" Amy asked not really caring which they did.

Shadow thought "No I think he needs to be alone… as do we" he purred pulling her close and kissing her neck passionately making her giggle slightly then hum.

He rubbed her stomach "I can't stand not being in shape"

Amy hummed more but said "Ya…" hesitantly.

He noticed and stopped his feeling and just held her close "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…"

"Amy…"

She frowned "I'm… just… scared"

"You are scared?" he asked "Of… what I just said?"

"… yes…. I mean I love you and…" she tried to speak but Shadow silently cut her off taking her hand softly.

"I'm not gonna push you to do anything you don't want to do… you got that? If you want me to stop with those comments I will, and if you want to take things slow I will be as slow as you want" his usually harsh voice was soft and caring, he meant every word. He was willing to do anything do anything for her, to keep her with him. The idea of losing her scared him to death.

He could feel her loosen up after his speech "Thank you…. Thank you Shadow"

"I love you Amy, don't forget that" he purred into her ear.

She smiled, it was one of the happiest smiles he'd ever seen from her.

"Shadow… I love you too" her hand now on his cheek.

He felt her lips meet his own. He passionately pulled her close and felt his emotions rise. He was sure if he went too much longer he might do something he regretted and pulled away.

She was in a daze but looked at him with a small look of disappointment.

"Sorry, after what you just said I'm letting myself get caught in the moment"

She smiled "That's kind of you, I think it could have lasted a moment longer but thank you for considering my feelings"

"I always will" he smiled.

"Listen can we do that again, don't afraid I'll tell you when it gets too far?" she sheepishly asked.

Shadow took a deep breath "No, I need to talk to you about something important" he took her hand again.

He could see the confusion in her eyes "What is it Shad?"

He gulped and finally after a small pause said "Amy… I think I'm moving out soon"

"What?" she asked shocked.

"I wanted to move out and get back being independent… not my personality, I mean just my life in general" clarifying a bit "I appreciate everything Vanilla has done and I will keep in touch. This is what's going to happen no matter what you say" he said being stern and to the point.

She looked sad and depressed feeling like he was distancing himself from all his friends again but Shadow spoke again "But there is one thing that may or may not happen…" her eyes got hopeful even though she had no idea what he was gonna ask.

He took a deep breath "Rose… will you come with me?"

Her eyes went wide trying to comprehend what he was asking "You want me to… live with you?"

He nodded while saying "I know this is your home and you love it here with Vanilla and Cream but… I just would like for you to come with me. A lonely apartment wasn't helping me before, it surely won't help me now… I mean you can say no. I won't get angry…" she cut him off.

"Shadow… you are still very much crippled, why do you think living alone would be a good idea?"

"I don't want to be a free loader anymore, I'm just here using up Vanilla's money everyday. Sure I do chores but not recently…. I don't want to be a burden on her. I'll keep in touch I really will but… ya" he tried to explain his case.

Amy was quiet for awhile "Is this what you really want?"

"Yes, but I'd like it more if you came" he was acting like this was an option and she could say no but his eyes gave it away. He needed her to come, without her he'd just revert to his old self. He was afraid and vulnerable. At this moment if she said no he feared for many things that were worse then just him going back to his old self.

The fear in his eyes made her pause. She was seriously considering his offer, it was just the fear in his eyes caught her off guard. He was actually showing some kind of fear. It moved her deeply.

"Shadow…" she wet her lips, she had no idea why answering was so hard because her answer was "Of course I will"

His eyes brightened up before hugging her tightly, it was a tight caring hug, it was a hug of astronomical thanks.

The pink hedgehog returned the hug "We'll have to tell Vanilla"

"I know, I'll do that. Hopefully she will be happy" he smiled.

"Well for now let's just sit and watch something" she smiled.

"You can choose if you want, anything" he said knowing he owed her a bit for what she just agreed to.

She squeeled happily and warned "You're gonna regret that! Romantic movie here we come!" hopping up and going through discs.

Shadow groaned and rolled his eyes, while she faced away he smiled though at the wonderful miracle in his life. He felt so happy right now. All he needed to do now was get through the rest of this, although he knew he'd have her by his side from now on.

 **So that's another chapter I AM NOT DONE YET. At most two more chapters cause the idea I have needs to split in half. So thanks for reading this far I promise that is all I got left. Two chapters. I guarantee it.**

 **So until next time.**

 **Admiralkirk95**


	18. Impress her- Who I am now

**A/N Alright second of these last two chapters. I promise this is the end. I know I keep saying "I got more ideas, longer sotry" but this is really it because the idea I have really doesn't allow for it to go much further. Ha bet you are thinking of the other idea I thought of . I hope you guys/gals are surprised by the one I choose. I guess that's about it for all I have to say really. I guess let me know if you think I did a good job and whether my series of one shot ideas should happen. I got more time to myself now, especially since I've slowly lost interest in playing games a lot. Although that may change when I eventually buy an xbox one(waiting on a special edition like a gears of war edition or halo 5 edition.**

 **Also I want to say this chapter was really hard to write, like the first part was fun to write but then we move on to what the chapter is mostly about and damn that's hard to do… probably because I don't go to theme parks often.**

"How'd it go?" Shadow asked.

Sonic smiled making a relieved sigh "Man it was great. She said yes and everything!"

"How'd you ask?" his rival asked taking a sip of beer and adjusting how he sat.

They were currently in the backyard of Vanillas house, Sonic stopped by to talk since nobody was home. Amy was off with Rouge shopping so Shadow welcomed the company, even if it was Faker.

Sonic shrugged "Just did it during a walk actually"

"Details?"

"Sure"

Yesterday…

Both Chloe and Sonic walked in the forest nearby the city. She drove here and Sonic just ran and met her.

She was wearing a nice sky blue summer dress while he wore a white T-shirt and boot cut jeans.

"Hey thanks for asking me out for a walk, I didn't have much planned today?" the golden retriever told the hedgehog.

"No worries" he smiled to her, a little nervous at what he planned. She didn't seem to notice though and enjoyed her surroundings.

They walked speaking every so often then going back to listening to the sounds of the forest.

"So any exciting stuff happen at the hospital or do you have to agree to a confidentiality agreement?" Sonic broke the silence again starting up a new conversation.

"No not really, I think worst we got yesterday was a heart attack, minor, the guy was out but the end of the day and now has meds"

"No people going into comas after a gun wound?" Sonic jokingly asked.

Chloe chuckled back "Oh no, not since the last one"

He smiled liking her smile "Good to hear…" he got nervous trying his best to steer the conversation in the way he wanted "So… you got the day off three days from now?"

"Ya, why?" her head turned to him questioningly.

Sonic looked away nervously "Well Twinkle park is having one of those promotional days and all my friends are going and I need a ummm…." He cleared his throat "Date… to help me get free admission" he mentally punched himself for phrasing it that way.

"Are you asking me onto a date?" she asked thinking it was just a friendly date.

"Uhhh" he understood her meaning and tried to save it "No… I mean yes… but… like… more serious then that" why was it so hard to just explain what he meant.

"Serious… like a… date date?" Chloe asked hesitantly hoping not over step.

"Yes! Like that" he said a little loud cause she said it exactly what he wanted to say.

Her eyes shot open a sec then blushed "Oh, Sonic really?" she had a hard time understanding how Sonic THE hedgehog would find her worth dating.

"I wouldn't ask if I didn't mean it, of course I mean it" he was nervous again.

"Well in that case, of course. I'll be your date" her smile a little wider then she wanted.

Sonic suddenly sighed heavily "Really… oh man that was harder then fighting Eggman" he wiped his brow since it was covered in sweat.

She giggled "It's just a question, how is that possible?"

He just blushed at her comment "It's much harder then it looks ok?"

"Anyway, when are you and your friends going?" Chloe asked wanting to know when to be ready.

"We'll be heading out at ten in the morning" he said almost forgetting from all the excitement.

"I'll be ready then… but let's finish this walk first, k?" she nodded but wanted to be out a bit longer.

"Sure, of course" Sonic smiled walking with her again. Both decided to act casual and temporarily forget they were going on a date for the rest of the walk.

Present…

Shadow was proud of the hedgehog though couldn't help but laugh at his extreme nervousness when he asked. He tried not to laugh though since he felt the same way when he asked Amy to be his girlfriend.

"So spoken to her since then, or gonna stay out of contact until it's time for the date?" Shadow asked composing himself.

"Not sure, I mean I won't refuse to speak to her if she comes by or texts me but so far it seems that way" he shrugged.

"Whatever, just be more composed for it. Can't be stuttering all day" he advised.

"I know… so you and Amy gonna bug us and stuff?" he knew Shadow had been trying to set him up with Chloe so he suspected he'd interfere.

To his surprise Shadow said "Nope, I got a girl to give a good day to as well. What kind of boyfriend would I be if I focused on you all day?"

"Well… thanks" he wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not. Maybe he needed eyes watching him to not screw up.

"Welcome, remember be natural and show her a good time" The dark hedgehog repeated his advice from before.

"Ya, ya I know. Was thinking of trying my luck on one the games and get her something" Sonic thought aloud.

"If that's your best idea then welcome to cliché city" Shadow mocked, though the showing of skill for beating the totally rigged games might be impressive.

"Hey you got a better idea!" Sonic said crossing his arms.

"Like I'm giving you any ideas" Shadow smirked also only having cliché ideas.

Sonic just scoffed "Whatever"

After that they spoke for awhile until Sonic had to leave for some coach meetings. Since Shadow was his unofficial co-coach he didn't need to come.

Vanilla was the next person Shadow saw since she came home. Vector apparently let her go early because he wanted to be nice and the day was slow.

"Hey Vanilla, how was work?" Shadow asked looking over the couchs back.

"Good, how has your day been?" she politely asked back.

"Pretty boring except Sonic came over and we talked. He's got a date" he said catching the rabbit attention.

"He does, who?" peaking around the corner.

"With Chloe of course" Shadow smirked.

"Oh she's a nice girl. I'm sure it will go well" the mother enthusiastically said.

"Mhm, if he doesn't embarrass himself in the process" Shadow mumbled to himself smirking. Although he needed to get something else done and got out of the couch.

He walked to the kitchen since Vanilla was getting herself a drink "Hey Vanilla, we need to talk" his voice told her it was a going to be a serious but somewhat hard talk.

"Yes?" she turned.

"Umm… I just want to say that I appreciate everything you've done for me. Letting me live here, feed me and keep my stuff tidy while I was gone. You've been so kind to me and for that I thank you from the bottom of my heart but I think I've over stayed my welcome" He knew Vanilla didn't him out he just felt that he needed to finally.

The mother rabbit frowned realizing what he meant, his kind words weren't enough to make this easier "Oh… well… are you sure? You are not a burden a promise" trying to make hi reconsider.

"I know I'm not but I've got money now. And Vector is hear more often so… I don't think this house can handle that many people plus his big personality" Shadow reasoned.

Her frown continued to rest sadly on her face "I promise this place can handle it" she had come to enjoy having him be here, he was so nice to her and never complained about anything.

Shadow smiled at her attempts to keep him, it showed she cared "Sorry, I know you want me to stay but, I want to take care of myself again. I'll stay in touch, I will, but I can't stay here forever"

"Amy won't like seeing you leave" her last excuse coming out.

"Oh ya… and that…. Amy agreed to come with me, I mean she might change her mind but we talked about this before" he scratched his head expecting her response.

Her eyes looked mortified, Amy was clearly old enough to live by herself but she was basically her daughter. "She is leaving… my baby?" she frowned. She even looked like she might cry.

Shadow saw it and approached "Please don't be sad, it wasn't my intention to do so"

"No it's ok, it's just… she's been with me ever since I took her in and…"

She's like a daughter I know. She needs to step into the adult world though. You know that. She can't live with you forever" he desperately didn't want her to appose the moving.

"I know… but… when Creams father left us…" that answered Shadows question of what happened to him two years ago "… I've been holding onto them for dear life, because they are all I have" her sobs came choking out of her mouth and tried to cover her eyes to avoid him seeing her cry.

He frowned and took her hand gently to comfort her "I'm sorry… he missed out of a wonderful woman and daughter" he started trying to make her feel better "You have Vector now, he loves you"

Her sobs continued though his words really did help "But… Cream will just leave me too" choking out the words.

"She may leave but she will not leave you behind. She will always be your daughter, as will Amy"

She revealed her eyes wiping away tears "I guess I'm just being over sensitive… the house will be so empty without all of you…"

"We'll stay in touch, I promise" he smiled warmly.

"I will miss you being around the house" She smiled warmly.

Shadow decided to reveal this to her "I will miss seeing you every day too… I don't want to sound… weird but, you are the closest thing I ever had to a mother… so thank you… for giving me that experience"

The mother rabbit smiled touched by his words "You are welcome Shadow… you are welcome here any time" she pulled him into a warm hug to which he returned back.

"I'll remember that next time I'm down on my luck" Shadow joked trying to make her stop crying.

It did work and she chuckled through her hiccups "Oh you definitely have changed since we first met… good luck Shadow, I hope you and Amy find a nice place. Just remember to stop by every so often, I like making dinner for you"

"For sure" he nodded as they separated.

"Thank you for being supportive" Shadow said and she just nodded wiping her face. He handed her a tissue and said "You'll be ok?"

"Yes, I thimk I will" she sniffed.

He smiled warmly and after a short moment let her be so she could recover.

Hours later after dinner…

"You spoke to to Vanilla about moving out?" Amy asked knowing the answer.

"Yes I did. She wasn't happy at first, scared we'd leave her behind but I reassured her. She's supportive now" Shadow explained.

"She thought we'd forget about her, never. She's my mom? I could never forget her for what she's done?" she frowned, she worried for the older rabbit, she must have been hiding some deep dark fears if the prospect of both of them moving out was the end of their relationship.

"Well she understands now" he wanted to add that she also knew how he felt about her but he decided she didn't need to know that. Atleast for now.

"Thank you Shadow, you really must have really known what to say if you calmed her down enough"

Shadow just shrugged modestly "I just said what I thought she'd want to hear"

"Well, it's kind of you. I'll talk to her myself later, for now it's late. I went to sleep" She yawned stretching a bit.

"I wouldn't want you missing your beauty sleep, not that you need it" he complimented.

She just lightly slapped him in a playful manner "You flirt"

"I try my best" he smirked pulling her close and kissing her before allowing her upstairs.

She giggled at his affection. When he let her go she walked upstairs and whispered "Sweet dreams"

"Oh they will be, you'll be in them" he smirked. Such a sappy line but it definitely made her blush making him smile in amusement.

Two days later…

Shadow was waiting downstairs He was wearing some good clothing today though casual enough for a park. He wore a black T-shirt and dark blue track pants with a black stripe going down the side of the legs.

He was waiting for two woman to come down since Tails was sitting on the opposite side of the couch with him.

He was dressed in a red dress T-shirt and blue jeans.

"How long have we been waiting?" Tails asked bored.

"About half an hour?" he checked his watch.

"We're going to a theme park, it's nor a formal occasion" Tails groaned.

"Be patient, it will be worth it" Shadow said though was also getting incredibly impatient.

In another few minutes they heard people coming down and turned.

Oh it was well worth the wait, even though they still had no idea why it took so long considering the final product.

Amy was dressed in a thin pink blouse and white shorts that were short, but not short shorts. She had her quills like they normally were just much cleaner and tidy., finally she decided to wear small earrings that were small diamond stubs.

Cream on the other hand a brown dress like her old one as a child all be it a little more flattering to her grown body. She wore sandals on her feet and to ribbons wrapped around the base of her ears.

"Told ya" Shadow smirked seeing Tails mouth gape for half a second.

Cream giggled "Guess we did a good job" Amy nodding response.

"Well I'd love to stand here and admire the view but we got to meet up with everyone else" Shadow said walking from the couch to the door.

The girls liked the attention but he was right so they followed along with Tails.

Amy drove them all in the car and soon parked. Getting out they found they weren't the only early risers who wanted to get in early. There was a fairly big line but nothing too bad. Approaching they found Knuckles and Rouge waiting. Apparently Rouge said something flirty since the echidna looked very red on the cheeks.

Knuckles didn't really dress up, he was never one for dressing nice unless he really, really needed to. Rouge just wore a somewhat tight looking shirt along with skinny jeans.

"Hey guys, I was just messing with Knuckie, as you can probably tell" Rouge greeted.

"Stop calling me that!" the echidna growled hating people hearing that nickname.

"You weren't complaining last night" she smirked

"What, nothing happened last night! He defended being truthful, always Rouge was sending false messages, she had spoken to the echidna before. She really wasn't gonna do any of that too soon.

Shadow shook his head trying not to smile at her antics as everyone else chuckled at him.

"Any sign of Sonic and his date?" Tails asked having last seen his friend back at their house.

"Nope" Knuckles said finally recomposed.

"He better hurry before more people show" Tails said looking around.

Shadow spoke "I bet he chickened out" he had more faith in him though.

"He'll be here, how hard can a date before for a guy who's saved the world a few times now?" Amy shrugged.

They all waitedfor another five minutes and saw Sonics car park.

"About time" Shadow sighed glad he hadn't gotten scared.

So out came Sonic and his date Chloe.

Sonic was dressed in a nice white T-shirt that was buttoned up besides the very highest one, he wore beige shorts and obviously had his normal shoes.

Chloe had her hair and fur, done. It was shiny and a little less curly then normal. She wore a light blue blouse along with light and thin pants which were white.

"Sorry we're late, a few bad stop lights" Sonic said as they approached. Unknown to everyone else he had been a bit scared and almost lost track of time and left five minutes late.

Nobody made a joke leaving him be so Amy said "Come on let's go!"

Everyone agreed and waited in line. Luckily it went fast because the promotion was if you were a couple you got free admission.

Once all four couples were in the park Amy asked "So are we splitting up?"

Knuckles said "Maybe we should stick together for a little then split up"

Rouge snorted "Afraid to be alone with me, no we'll split up and meet for lunch… around 1, how about that?"

Her comment made Knuckles groan but everyone agreed to that and split up. Shadow could tell Sonic was nervous, he could barely talk, he usually couldn't shut up.

Shadow and Amy went off in one direction and Amy asked "You see Sonic, he's gonna fail so hard at some point today"

Shadow laughed, apparently Amy wanted to see him fail too "Ya probably. So what do you wanna do, work our way up or get to the big rides first, or something else?"

She hummed in thought walking next to him "Well let's what they got first?" she said stalling for time.

He rolled his eyes "Ugg, fine"

Eventually Shadow took lead and said "Come on we're getting on a ride" walking to the drop tower.

"A-are you sure" she said nervously obviously afraid of the ride.

"What are ya chicken?" Shadow smirked.

"No… just… ok maybe I am" she pouted cross armed.

Shadow just laughed "Hey I'll be next you"

"That's not enough"

"Oh really? Does my presence not inspire confidence now?"

"Not in this area!" She yelled.

He rolled his eyes "Ummm, we haven't eaten in hours if you are afraid of puking then we're good"

"Hey maybe I just don't like getting thrown around" Amy argued.

"Yes cause that isn't something you've probably had done before" he replied sarcastically "Now come on" for once he was the one pulling her wrist dragging her where he wanted.

"He heard her yelp and yell "Hey stop!"

"You owe me Rose, you pushed me out of my boundaries, so I'm gonna help you push one of your boundaries"

"What boundary was that?" she groaned trying to challenge him.

"To love, to get close to people, to care" he smirked giving her three.

She groaned again sweating now "Shadow if you take me up there, we're finished!" she threatened.

He paused for a half a second "I'll take the risk" he smirked pulling her into line again.

He could feel her shiver and fear and felt some remorse, wondering if he really should back down and asked "You really that scared?"

"…Yes" she answered hesitantly and embrassed.

"I'll be right beside you, is that enough?" he aked again but more soothingly.

Her confidence went up a bit "O-ok, you promise you'll hold my hand the whole way?"

"Of course" Shadow smiled warmly.

He saw her smile and both stood in line for their turn, Shadow worried that Amy might change her mind the longer they waited.

Luckily she seemed to keep her cool "So got an idea for what we'll do after this?" he fully expected her to get some revenge on him.

She hummed in thought "Well first, if I don't feel too sick, let's get some cotton candy"

"Cotton candy?" Shadow asked, he'd heard of it yet never actually ate it.

She looked at him questioningly "You know, fluffy, sweet and bad for you?"

"If it's so bad I don't think you should eat it" Shadow said taking it too serious.

"No because it's junk food" she sighed.

"…oh…" he said looking away.

"So wanna try?"

He sighed "Fine, if you want to we can do that"

"YAY!" she cheered as they were called to take the last two seats. Luckily right next to eachother.

"Ready?" Shadow asked.

"No turning back now I guess" since they were locked into the seats.

"Just hold on" offering his hand to her which she very quickly took. He could feel her shivering and holding it in a death grip. Hopefully she wouldn't be angry with him after this.

In a few seconds it started to ascend. Shadow kept calm but heard Amy's teeth chatter over the growing wind.

He tried to think of something and said "Try not to look down… I'm sure that might help" he said not sure if it would.

"H-hey, why don't you teleport us out of here, I won't mind that I'll feel sick, promise, come on quick we're almost to the top" she ignored him and begged him to get her out of here.

"Wouldn't that be suspicious?"

"I DON'T CARE GET ME OFF THIS THING!"

He smirked "Then no cotton candy"

"What, hey no fair!"

"Sorry, but I get my choice then you get yours, if not then it's my choice again" he smirked more nearly there.

If she chickened out now he'd just keep choosing hard stuff to annoy her and never give her a chance "F-fine… but you are gonna die when we get down"

"Not if you don't die first" chuckled noticing they reached the top.

His comment made her freeze, it was priceless, the face she had. The last thing he saw before he felt gravity disappear for a moment as the ride dropped. He felt his hand nearly brake from her grip.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" he heard everyone on the ride scream besides him, although Amy was loudest.

He challenged himself and stayed totally stiff and straight face the entire way down. The only time he moved was when his quills moved from the momentum and slightly shifting from stopping before going again.

Although next to him Amy was white knuckles gripping his hand and the guard. Her face of terror was both funny and a reminder of he might feel in a bit when they were done.

Every time it jerked up or down he felt Amy's grip tighten more and soon she'd be braking his hand. Luckily for him it finally reached the bottom and gently lowered the last little bit to the ground. The operator realised everyone from the seats and Shadow jumped out totally fine.

He looked back to find Amy totally frozen and couldn't help but smile and noticed he'd have to leave. So he had to make the embarrassing act or lifting the frozen girl and carry her away.

He heard a chuckle or two but didn't care finding a bench and sitting her down then sat down next to her waiting. He didn't wait long and felt a sharp pain on his cheek "You jerk!" apparently she slapped his cheek instantly as she got out of her frozen state.

"I gave you a chance to back out" he shrugged.

"Ya and then you would have chosen some other impossible choice" she crossed her arms.

He knew how to make her feel better "Tell ya what, if I pay for both our cotton candy and you get the choose the next to two things, are we even?"

Amy smirked making him regret the offer "Ok, Shady, now what could we do after cotton candy?" her sinister smile grew. She really wanted the treat but had ideas to mess with him.

He gulped already regretting being nice…

Awhile before that…

Chloe and Sonic walked away from their friends. The blue hedgehog had been uncharacteristically quiet since he met up with Chloe barely speaking a word. The most he spoke was when he had his other friends around.

The female noticed and considering how badly he had to try just to ask her out on this date she could guess why. She started a conversation "So Sonic, got an idea of what to do first?"

He snapped from his silent trance "Huh? Oh sorry I was thinking" he very slightly blushed hearing het giggle at him.

"Thinking about what?"

"What to do first"

"Well then we we're on the same page" she smiled.

"Hmmm, "How about a ride, something easy" he wanted to be nice unlike his darker rival.

"That sounds like a good idea" Chloe agreed.

"So like what?" Sonic asked not wanting to do anything unless she was cool with it.

"How about…" she thought "Oh I know, the tea cups. I always liked those" Chloe smiled.

"Alright then let's go" Sonic said changing direction to the tea cups ride.

Going that way Chloe asked "So you come here before?" she guessed he had since he knew where he was going.

"Yup, since I was… seven I think. My mom brought, my brother, sister and I here. Ever since then I come here every so often" Sonic explained "You been here before?"

"Oh no, I've never been here. I've been to another theme park but that was awhile ago" the dog explained.

"Oh ya? What family you got anyway?" he had never asked before so he thought now would be a good idea.

"My mom and dad, and my sister" she replied.

"Oh cool, where are they now?"

"They all stayed in Central city, I felt like finding a change of scenery so I moved here" Chloe recounted her life in short.

"How long ago was that?" Sonic asked seeing the ride now. She was obviously around longer then two years.

"About three and a half years ago" she quickly answered.

He looked to her neck and saw that collar and small coin on it. "So what's with the charm on your neck?" pointing to it.

She smiled remembering when Shadow asked the same question "Well the leaf is because I enjoy the month in Autumn. Because of th colours the leaves change to, then the A on the other side is because my middle name is Autumn" she smiled.

"Chloe Autumn Davidson? That's a cool name" he complimented, it was kinda a lame line but hey he was trying.

"Thanks, is your full name Sonic the hedgehog?" She asked.

"To be honest ya it is" he blushed "It's a family thing"

"Well it's short and catchy, exactly what a hero needs" She commented.

"Ya I guess" Sonic smiled shrugging as they entered the relatively small line.

Chloe turned snd jokingly asked "This ride wont be to slow for the likes of you will it?"

"Ha… Ha" he laughed sarcastically but smiled "Hey I can slow down to normal levels and still find it enjoyable"

"How enjoyable?" She smirked knowing he probably enjoyed going really fast.

He rolled his eyes at that but admitted "Alright smart pants, yes I find it more fun as it's faster"

Hoe giggled "Maybe we could get your friend Tails to break the machines to go faster"

Sonic stood there wide eyed legit thinking about her suggestion.

"Umm hello?" she waved a hand in his face snapping him out of it.

"Huh, oh sorry" he shook his head "Zoned out there"

She just giggled at him and he tried to change subject "So why'd you choose the tea cups?" he was sure there was some story behind it.

"It was the first ride my dad and I ever went in together, the centrifugal force caused me to slide to his side and he held me close" She explained sighing at the memories.

Sonic smiled glad she was going down memory lane.

"The first ride I think I was on, or atleast I can remember was that one merry go round kind of ride with swing like seats instead of horses" he couldn't remember the name but he could tell she understood.

"Oh that sounds like a fun one" she personally thought the ride was just the slightest hardcore for your first ride but he wasn't dead from it so she didn't care.

"Ideas for what we're gonna do next?" Sonic asked as they neared their turn.

"Hmmm, I don't know" she tried to think.

Sonic tried to think but they were called to get on the ride and broke their thoughts.

Once inside Chloe said "It feels smaller then I remember, course I was little then"

"I'm sure it will be as fun" Sonic said right before it started.

The ride was fun and despite Sonic finding it too slow he had fun seeing Chloe smile. Although just like her dad story she slid in him and both blushed.

When that was done Sonic helped her out of the ride "That was fun right?" his blush still apparent from her slide next to him.

"Ya" was all she could say as well.

"So where now?" Sonic cleared throat…

Elsewhere…

Shadow had to admit, he liked the fluffy sweet Amy called cotton candy. Hell had he been alone he'd have bought seconds.

He saw her smirk "You like it don'tcha?"

"Perhaps I do?" He shrugged like it wasn't a big deal.

"Oh come you said seconds ago right before he bought it that it looked stupid and childish" using his words exactly.

"Still looks childish and stupid but good" he conceded.

She rolled her eyes knowing it was all she was gonna get from him and said "So what do we do next?" she asked herself since Shadow had promised she'd get to choose the next two things.

She had a few ideas and Shadow could see it on her face.

"Ok first, you're going to go for a face painting" she smirked.

"WHAT!? NO!"

"Hey you made a deal or are you a liar!" she challenged.

"I am not letting some random person paint my face with some goofy image!" Although his protest fell on deaf ears.

"Nope, coming with me right now" she grabbed his wrist and dragged him along with her surprising strength.

"Stop"

"No"

"Stop"

"NO!"

Shadow almost tried to threaten he'd break up with her like she had for him earlier but felt that was a bit too strong "Stop and I'll make it worth your while"

"Oh ya and how?" she asked skeptically.

He hadn't really expected her to stop and tried to think fast "I'll say I love you" his face pitifully showing he had no ideas.

"But you just said it?" she tried to fluster him.

"No, I said as a part of a sentence, it means nothing unless I say it directly to you and it's just those three words plus maybe your name" he really started to feel like Sonic now who would find loopholes and crap to avoid things.

She thought tapping her chin "What else will you do?"

He groaned "I'll… give you a kiss?"

"Out here in public with everyone around" she smirked demanding it.

"Fine!" he was about to do all that but Amy then added "Oh and you got to make it passionate and dip me. So everyone sees"

"No" he flat out said, he wasn't gonna raise that much attention to himself to avoid this, having paint on his face would bring less attention then that.

"You suck" she pouted but then instantly started dragging him again almost making him fall.

"I think you should be a cat" already trying to choose a design.

He groaned and tried to think of another way out, he couldn't escape her iron grip without hurting her. Or teleport or she'd come with him.

He had to accept his face and soon he was in a chair getting painted up like a cat. He'd have taken that chance to escape but Amy was quite literally right behind him poised to smash him with her hammer if he made any indication he'd move.

"You are unbearable" he growled feeling the artist add the whiskers off his nose.

"Ahh but you still love me. Embarrassment is temporary, love isn't" her sweet voice mockingly grinding on his nerves.

He had to sit there the entire time, he wanted to strangle the painter but knew he'd get a few lumps on his head for that.

Soon it was done and he painted up like an orange tabby cat.

"Aww you look cute" his pink girlfriend cooed laughing.

"I feel so cute right now" he growled his voice laced heavily with sarcasm.

"This can't be as bad as what you got next" he rolled his eyes.

"Oh right I get one more" she chimed happily "Hmmm, ummm… You are going on a ferris wheel" she smiled.

"Are you coming?" he asked, at the very least she could come with him and do this, he could bug her while she was forced to stay in the seat.

"Sure I guess" purposely trying not to sound excited.

He rolled his eyes and they went there. He was looked at as much as he feared for his new face. In fact he got a chuckle out of a kid or two. Normally he'd be a bit angry but he was turning soft. He loved and hated it.

In line once again Shadow could imagine Sonic complaining about it.

"I still can't get over you having face paint" Amy laughed.

He growled arms crossed "Har har"

"Oh come on, can you atleast try to have fun?" Amy said using her fingers to force him to smile.

His smile forced smile was ugly and awkward and she cringed putting it back "Ya… ummm…. Try not to smile"

Shadow huffed "You're giving me mixed signals, tell me to be less serious and smile and now I shouldn't?" he knew his smile was ok just not that particular smile and wanted to annoy her.

"Hey well it's not my fault you have an ugly smile" she protested back huffing.

"That's very nice, that's lowers my self esteem and I might just kill myself" he joked.

"You wouldn't leave me like that" she called his bluff.

"Who says?"

Amy rolled her eyes smirking "Ummm you did, remember. You said you wouldn't leave me again"

Shadow had to admit he intended to keep that promise and sighed "Alright you got me there.

"I knew it" she smirked knowing she won.

Shadow waited for their turn and soon got on, the pain irritated his fur and he scratched at it as he got in the seat with Amy.

"Stop messing with it!" she chastised him.

"It's annoying"

"Stop thinking about it and you'll stop noticing it" the pink hedgehog growled.

"Why do you care, you got me to wear it?" Shadow asked trying hard not to scratch again.

"Because you have to keep it on for all our friends to see"

"NO!" Shadow yelled as the ride started "You never mentioned that" He hoped his intimidating voice would sway her but sadly she knew him too well.

"What'cha gonna do, hit me?" her challenge almost worked as he clenched his fists in frustration.

"If you were anyone else you'd be thrown from this ride" he tried to warn.

She just laughed "Ya whatever softy"

They rode the ride and the tension went away, Shadow even bold enough to wrap an arm around her.

"Such a cliché, but smooth" Amy smiled.

He nodded with a smile and they enjoyed the ride.

In time Amy mentioned it was time to meet with their friends.

Shadow desperately tried to scratch the paint from his face but Amy would slap his hand away to which he'd growl.

They approached and saw all six of their friends there.

Rouges spotted them first "Hey you two… uhhh… what is…?" looking at man who looked like Shadow but with paint on his face.

"Don't ask" Shadow growled approaching confirming everyone's guesses.

"I'm gonna ask" Sonic said.

"Don't" Shadow growled louder.

"I'm gonna do it"

"Stop"

"I'm doing it"

"Do it and you'll be seeing a lot of Chloe at the hospital" He threatened with his fist shaking at him.

"Eh it would do me good to see her more, plus she'll be in her nurse outfit" Sonic smirked then realized she was right there and said "…Crap" blushing hard.

Chloe blushed though took it more as a compliment. Although everyone smiled at them except Shadow. Unfortunately for him Amy told them all anyway "Shadow promised I could choose a few activities that he'd have to do and I chose face painting him like a cat"

Knuckles burst out laughing "Shadow you must have known she'd do something like that, right!"

The dark hedgehog rolled his eyes "Maybe" he looked away.

"Well… anyway… it's lunchtime so let's get started I'm hungry" Sonic tried to get himself away from the awkward situation he had with his date.

"Yes, let's get started" Shadow grumbled.

With that everyone got food and sat down. Tails started "So we know how Shadow and Amy's day have been going, how's everyone else?"

Rouge spoke "Knuckles and I have been having lots of fun, got him on a rollercoaster and got a nice picture of me kissing him while he screamed in terror" this made Knuckles blush, seeing as he didn't defend himself it must have been true.

Tails explained "Cream and I have been just keeping it slow and enjoying eachothers company"

Sonic nodded "Chloe and I just been getting to know eachother"

Rouge smirked "I'm sure you have" her tone suggestive.

"Hey! No!" Sonic yelled.

Chloe giggled at her date getting flustered.

Sonic stayed quiet embarrassed and Shadow smirked.

"What we gonna do now?" Amy asked her boyfriend.

Shadow may have not liked her tricking him but he still had an idea "I got one but I'll tell ya later"

"Hey no secrets" Sonic protested since they were supposed to all hang out together now.

"Then you'll all find out soon" he rolled his eyes.

"Well now is later" Sonic joked.

"Shut up Faker"

"Meany"

Shadow just grunted and finished his meal beating everyone besides Sonic. He tried to watch Chloe and Sonic yet not let anyone know and could see they were both being kinda shy. Sure Sonic would open up for a moment but then lose his confidence and the conversation would die down quickly.

"So Chloe, what exactly do you find interesting bout your date?" Shadow asked getting a glare from his blue friend.

She was caught off guard and blushed not wanting to say this in front of him but said "He seems like a nice guy. I mean he's saved the world he's got to be a good dude"

Shadow smirked "Or he could be an narcissistic asshole who saves the world specifically so people will praise him" he knew the hedgehog wasn't like that but it was clearly a point to make.

"I find that offensive" Sonic jokingly responded.

"Well there's that, but I think he's legit" she defended making Sonic smile.

"See people believe in me" Sonic smirked.

"I remember when people temporarily thought you were a womanizer from that news story after you and Shadow argued over Amy" Rouge pointed out.

Shadow huffed "Basically were until I told you all that"

"Hey shut up I wasn't like that" Sonic defended feeling bad.

Amy cut in "Shadow stop, he knows what he did wrong and apologized, you were there. He was a good friend while you were gone as well so cut him some slack" her tone made Shadow back down without question.

He didn't say he was sorry but gave Sonic a quick glance, which was close enough to an apology as he was gonna get.

Rouge broke it up "So what are we gonna do?"

Shadow said "I challenge Sonic to one of the games around here"

Sonic smirked "I accept"

"Alright, the shooting game" Shadow said having a distinct advantage there.

"Wait that's not fair!" Sonic protested.

"You accepted my challenge meaning I get to choose the game, so suck it up" Shadow smirked feeling smart, not too hard considering his opponent.

"Smartass" Sonic grumbled but had no choice but to go along with it.

Sonic followed his opponent to the shooting game as did everyone else. Everyone knew the outcome already but it was worth seeing if Sonic would beat Shadow to any of the targets.

"Listen Faker, if you can even half my score we'll call that a win for you" Shadow offered wanting to give him some false hope.

Sonic had no choice but to accept that too and Shadow payed for their fee, least he could do.

Amy approached and whispered "Come on, make it close atleast"

Shadow rolled his eyes sighing "Fine, I'll try but I can't account for his terrible aim"

After that both got pistols that would only shoot BB's and readied their aim.

They heard a ding and targets appeared Shadows gun firing first, and second. With expert precision he knocked down two before Sonic could pin down a target a fire, he almost missed but got it.

Shadow continued dropping targets at twice the pace Sonic could. Realising he was a good chunk ahead he purposely missed a few by mere inches allowing Sonic to catch up.

He really hated purposely missing but Amy asked him keep it close and honestly he was on a date. He wasn't going to humiliate him in front of her so soon Sonic caught up to his full score and only three targets remained.

The blue hedgehogs confidence was up now seeing he was close behind by one point and took aim for his first target knocking it down.

Shadow saw it and smirked quickly shooting his first and by less then half a second beat Sonic to the third and final target.

With that Shadow finished by twirling his pistol like a gunmen in a movie and finally blew away the non existent smoke from the barrel.

He tried to act surprised "Better then I expected, but deals a deal" he clearly beat half his score so Shadow allowed him to pick his prize.

He looked over to Amy who gave him an appreciative smile and walked to him and gave him a kiss on the cheek "Thanks Shad" she whispered.

The pair watched as Sonic got a prize for Chloe which was a plush teddy bear.

"Kinda wish I could have gotten you one of those though" Shadow whispered back to Amy.

"What are you talking about, I got my cuddle buddy right here" she cooed hugging him.

He chuckled at that "Oh really, well then I guess I owe you some of that when we head home"

She giggled nuzzling him finally letting go once Knuckles said he'd win Rouge something by winning the mallet challenge. He succeeded with ease and despite Rouges protest of not wanting anything.

Finally Tails not wanting to look like he wasn't trying won a game for Cream as well.

The rest of the day went by normally until it started to get late and Sonic said "Hey guys I need to get Chloe home"

"See you later Sonic" Tails waved along with everyone else.

The blue blur left with Chloe back to the car and the other three pairs decided to call it a day too.

"Well see you later" Rouge said getting ready to fly off but blew a seductive kiss to Knuckles making him blush.

After that Knuckles took his leave and walked home while the final four took the car back home.

Once home Cream and Tails made their goodbyes before he flew himself home.

The rabbit went upstairs to do whatever she had planned leaving Amy and Shadow alone.

"So did you have fun?" Amy asked.

"Besides the face painting, yes" he calmly answered.

She rolled her eyes "Well I had fun too. Thanks for being mostly cooperative, especially letting Sonic win"

Shadow smiled a little "I think he needed the win, he was on a date with a girl he was trying to impress"

She nodded hugging him again "Well anyway, thanks for the good day. When we gonna start the apartment hunting?" she seemed more eager then before which made the male happy.

"As soon as you are ready?" he said arms behind his back clasped together.

She thought for a moment "Well I got work for the next four days so wait until then?"

"Of course" he made a slight bow.

She giggled and was about to get upstairs but said "Oh and get that ridiculous paint off your face, I miss your handsome face" then proceeded to go upstairs.

Shadow smirked "I knew she liked my face more then this" he thought and went to the bathroom to wash it off.

He heard her yell from upstairs "See you later Shadow-kun!"

He blinked at the nickname, it reminded him heavily of her nickname for Sonic. He felt like he'd never lose that name for a long time.

Once he left his phone chimed and he looked down taking it from his pocket.

"Hello?"

"Hey Shadow, get home safe?" he could tell it was Sonic, he gave his number to him days ago trusting him enough to have it now.

"Yes we did, you did too I assume?"

"Yup, dropped off Chloe and I'm back home now"

"Good to hear" he nodded.

"Ya… so…. She said she'd like to go out again sometime" he could feel Sonic was excited but he said it sheepishly.

"Good job, you impressed a girl who already liked you" his tone sarcastic.

"Ya whatever, anyway thanks for all the help"

"No problem" Shadow said glad the blue blur was humble.

"And thanks for letting me win"

"You're much smarter then you appear" Shadow smiled but hung up before he could say more and looked around for something to do. All he could really think of though was moving out.

He wanted to finally start his life up again alongside Amy and start the new adventure of not living along with the woman he loved.

He knew he'd try and be with her until the day she died, atleast that's what he wanted. He wasn't sure how things would turn out but if there was something he learned from all this is that sometimes you make that jump with no guaranteed answer at the other side.

He finally felt like he was living, he wasn't a machine anymore.

He smirked thinking back to words he had uttered a long time ago and realized how wrong they were now and repeated them "This is who I am…" he then added one last word like it were an update "…now"

 **So that's finally it, wel not quite it I got a bit more too go. I hope the chapter was fun and good to read and I hope that you appreciate the story. I've got ideas for one shots and junk but I won't start that until I finish this. Got more work to worry about, infact I got this done half an hour before I had to go for a ten hour night shift. Felt like if I die at work I might as well get this done first.**

 **So tell me what you think of the story what you may have wanted to see and just let me know of anything I may be doing good or bad. Thanks for reading. This could technically be the last chapter but I really want to do what I have planned. I garentee you guys will find it nice, consider it like an epilogue to the story when it finally comes.**

 **So until next and live long and prosper.(ya I just did that)**

 **Admiralkirk**


	19. Goodbyes

**A/N So here we are the final chapter, I think I might cry a bit, not really. But yes this is finally here and this ending I keep hinting at will finally be revealed. I hope it wasn't too obvious and I got your hopes up for nothing but I thought of it literally just before I was gonna finish it the first time. This may be a bit sad, but in the good kind of sad…. Enjoy and try not cry.( doubt it, I've only ever brought people to tears once before with an epic Sly cooper one shot)**

Shadow stared down at his beautiful rose. Her fur had dulled even turning white or silver in certain spots. Her eyes were now full of age and wisdom, the green emeralds he fallen in love with were now dull and a little foggy. Her face had wrinkles all along it, but to him none of that made her any less beautiful then the day he had fallen for her.

He felt some weird déjà vu in the situation he was in, although the roles were reversed. He looked down at her from the side of her hospital bed. Her frail body was near its end. He had watched for some time as her condition worsened, he was just happy that it was her age and nothing like a disease.

It had been almost 88 years since he had taken the step to ask Amy to live with him. Ever since then they'd been together, through the good and bad. Everyday had been better then the last, a constant adventure that he and Amy had shared from then until now.

He heard her try to speak and kneeled down so she wouldn't have to speak as loud.

"How are you Shadow-kun?" yup that had stuck all these years.

"I'm doing fine Rose, how about you" he said softly.

"Tired" was all she could really say in response.

He frowned looking away "I wish I could have found a way to make you immortal like me" he tried to take her hand but she pulled away with the little strength she had.

"I already told you, I don't want that" her voice stern but clearly tired.

He knew this, he still didn't like it but he wouldn't defy her wishes. He took her hand again without any protest this time "We've come a long way haven't we?"

Amy smiled eyes drooping a bit "Yes we have" but then looked away frowning "I wish our friends were still alive"

"I know…" he looked down.

Most of their old friends were gone now, Vanilla and Vector had gotten married and spent the rest of their lives together and both eventually passed away.

He remembered that awkward moment when the rabbit asked him of all people to walk her down the aisle. He had asked why not her actual father but she said that her father had passed, and since Shadow was technically the oldest make she knew then he should do it. Shadow was hard pressed to say no so did it. Amy teased him about it but he gladly did it, he owed her that much. In fact he offered to pay for her dress no matter the cost for letting him stay in her home so long. He really thought she should have gone all out on a dress, not that he didn't have the money, but she was kind and get only what she thought was good but not pricey.

Where'd he get the money, he and Amy continued their crime spree with Rouge and racked up the money. He found it incredibly hot that Amy did that and it led to some interesting nights.

Rouge and Knuckles also married, all be it after a lot of pressure from Rouge. Although Knuckles grew on the idea and once married they had a daughter who was now the newest guardian of the Master emerald. Those two passed a few years back since they were older then almost everyone excluding Vector and Espio.

He was admittedly very sad to see Rouge pass away, she had been his first and longest friend since he woke from stasis, she had been by his side even when she didn't need to be. He owed her nothing and neither did she yet she helped him try to discover his past and eventually helped him make a living. He would sorely miss her.

Their daughter was rash like her father but also knew when to be cunning like her mother. Trained by both parents she was a strong, fast, intelligent and seductive guardian. She may do better then Old Knucks ever did.

Silver and Blaze had eventually gone back to her dimension and from what he heard and had protected that dimension until they got too old. Doing so required them to abandon their company; they didn't really care cause going back to Blazes home was worth more for both of them. They had two kids a boy and a girl. Both inherited powers, one getting Silvers ESP and the other receiving Blazes pyro powers.. Last Shadow had heard of them was both passed as well their kids becoming the new protectors.

Cream and Tails were still alive. All be it old like Amy was. They still had a few good years left in them though. They had three kids, two boys and a girl. He met them and become their unofficial uncle. One of the boys, the youngest, was kind hearted and care free like their mother. The second boy was who was oldest was a bit rash but a good guy who looked out for his friends, always first to help someone. The girl had become a genius like her father and excelled at school like him too.

Shadow then thought of his own life and family. Year ago he had been confused to put his name and Family together but over the years it grew on him. Looking to his right was his oldest son, Shade.

His fur was black but in a few spots lightened to a dark grey. His quills resembled his mothers although bent outwards at the end like his own quills He also inherited the red stripe going from his for head to the end of his back quills. His eyes were sky blue but carried the fire inside like his father.

Next to him was his younger brother Dusk.

His fur was entirely black with no red detail. His quills nearly identical to Shadow's. His eyes were emerald green like Amy.

Both of them actually aged so there was no worry of passing on his immortality, he was happy for that. So were they too. He liked it because he could see his sons go through their entire lives and their kids, and their kid's kids.

Shadow smiled to his sons who smiled back then looked back to Amy and thought about the last of their friends.

He sighed remembering poor Sonic. He wasn't killed or anything. Tragically it was his speed that ended up killing him.

He thought back to forty years earlier…

Shadow sat in his home. The house he and Amy had settled on when they found out she was pregnant. His two sons had moved our a few years back and now they lived with only eachother again.

He heard the phone ring and answered what he soon would realize wasn't just another salesman.

"Hello"

"Shadow!...?"

"Tails? What's up?" his voice sounded like it was in distress.

"It's Sonic meet up with us at the hospital! Quickly please!"

Shadow nodded getting up hanging up and said "Amy, we need to get to the hospital now, it's urgent!" already going to get his chaos emerald.

"What, what's wrong?" she said turning off the stove and followed him.

"Something is up with Sonic" it was all he knew so when she asked for specifics he answered with shrugs.

He grabbed his emerald and turned taking his wife's hand and focused.

"Chaos… CONTROL!"

In a flash they were in the parking lot of the hospital and ran for the front door.

They got directions to Sonics room and were soon there walking inside.

Shadow looked round and found Tails, Cream, Knuckles, Rouge, Sonia, Manic and Chloe inside plus a doctor.

In the bed was a conscious Sonic who looked deathly sick.

"What's wrong?" Amy gasped walking to the opposite side of the bed then the doctor.

The doctor sighed "I've never seen it before, his body is rapidly deteriorating"

"What do you mean!?" Shadow half yelled wanting to know why his friend was dying.

The doctor flinched but shook his head "My best guess… his metabolism is the problem"

"What!?" Shadow asked initially finding the explanation stupid.

The doctor shook his head "No, listen. His speed… his incredible speed came from his extremely fast metabolism. The side effect to having faster metabolisms is shortened lives. So he can move fast but he'll die of old age faster then everyone else. Hence why he's deteriorating so suddenly.

"Oh Sonic!" Chloe cried finally hearing the cause of illness "He'd been feeling sick for the last week but it came so suddenly an hour ago" she cried into her hands and Amy hugged her to comfort her also tearing up.

"Is there anything you can do?" Shadow asked desperation in his voice, which caught everyone including himself off guard.

"I'm sorry… but no" the doctor frowned looking away "We couldn't stop it even if we wanted to… I suggest saying goodbye, at this rate he won't survive the night…" he couldn't do much more so left the room to allow everyone to do what they needed to do.

Shadows fist clenched in anger feeling powerless, there was nothing he could do to help him. Even if he suddenly had all the chaos emeralds and turned him to Super Sonic it would delay the inevitable.

He tried to calm himself and approached Amy and Chloe and gently pulled the female dog into a soft embrace. Over the years he had learned when and how to show compassion.

But he had no idea what to say, what could you say to something like this. It wasn't going to be ok, Sonic was guaranteed dead and saying he was sorry wouldn't make sense. So all he could do was let her cry into his shoulder.

When it felt like she may never stop he cleared his throat "You need to speak to him, before it's too late. I know he'll want to hear your voice before the time comes"

She sniffed and tried her best to steel her nerves and approached her now husband. They had been together for almost twenty years, Sonic was always too scared to ask her the big question so Shadow had forced him to after awhile by forcing him to one knee and plopping a ring in his hand to propose.

"Sonic, can you hear me?" Chloe asked taking his quivering hand.

"Y-yes" he managed to say.

"Does it hurt?"

"Less… now that… I have… painkillers" ya like three at the same time, it was hard to believe he was conscious.

"I'm so sorry" she sobbed tears streaming down.

"Don't be, none of us could have predicted this… besides, I spent every moment I could to make you and everyone happy… it's good enough for me" he was able to get through it all but violently coughed afterwards. He cringed in pain gripping his stomach with his free hand worrying everyone in the room he might just die right there.

But he was a strong hedgehog and clenched his fist knowing he had to stay alive as long as possible.

"Chloe, just remember, I love you, and our girls. Let them know for me will ya?" they had two girls, one was hedgehog and the other golden retriever, neither inherited his super speed meaning they wouldn't suffer this fate like him.

"I will…" she sobbed, both of the girls were on a trip together in another country so they would never make it back in time. She wasn't sure if she wanted them to see their father die like this anyway.

"Thank you.." he smiled seeing his brother sister approach.

Manic was clearly sad with all his features and his sister cried lightly seeing their brother in such pain.

"You'll be seeing mom soon eh bro?" manic said trying to see a bright side.

Sonic being a joker even in this situation smirked "Guess I beat you two again" everything between them had always been a competition, guess he was seeing mom again first too.

Sonia managed to let out the slightest chuckle for that and said "We'll miss you bro"

"Don't rush to see me again, promise me that" he asked them hoping they'd live full lives. Both agreed and both hugged their brother one last time.

Tails approached tears in his eyes. Sonic had always been a person to bring him confidence and knowing he wouldn't make it broke his heart and potentially his confidence for a long time.

"Hey buddy" Sonic smiled up at his best friend.

"You can't leave Sonic… not yet" Tails stuttered.

Sonic smiled at his concern but tried to think quick "Don't worry buddy, if you ever feel scared or feel like you need someone to talk to, I'll be around… not physically but I'll be there. Got it?"

The fox smiled hugging Sonic "Thanks… for everything"

"Just make sure to never let any obstacle stop you. The only thing holding you back is yourself, you break that barrier and you can achieve anything" he knew full well Tails had done a lot in his life but he felt those words were worth saying.

The fox smiled "I'll remember that Sonic… hope we meet again"

"Hopefully not too soon" Sonic smiled also bidding him a long happy life.

This went like this for awhile with everyone in the room. Amy was one of the last bawling her eyes out. She may not have loved him romantically anymore but they were very good friends and she was a longer friend with him then even Tails.

"Oh Sonic, why? Why did this have to happen to you?" Hugging him tightly but made sure to be nice unlike normal. Any extra pain could tip him over the edge too early.

"Guess my luck just finally caught up to me, but it's ok. I did almost everything I wanted to do" he smiled.

"What do you mean?" she asked him.

"Well we permanently beat Eggman, I fell in love, got married had kids. Spent everyday the best I could and have plenty of friends who care about me. I watched my girls grow up and enter the world for themselves… I'll miss their weddings though, play over protective dad threaten to kill their boyfriends. But more importantly I won't be able to grow old with Chloe" he heard his wife choke out more tears hearing that so he squeezed her hand as comfort.

Amy sniffed tearing up "I'll make sure you daughters get good guys, and if I need help Shadow will help too"

"Thank you Amy… you've changed so much since your fangirl days… I'm happy to call you my friend if it worth anything now you've grown into a beautiful woman. Shadow is lucky to found you" he smiled making her smile as well.

"Goodbye Amy, it truly was a blast while it lasted" receiving a much more heartfelt and warm hug from her.

"Goodbye Sonic" she sobbed and back away allowing the last person in the room to say goodbye.

Shadow walked to the side of the bed, his face expressionless, he truly resembled his old self.

He kneeled down and stared at his rival/friend until he said "Too fast for your own good"

Had it been someone else Sonic would have been offended but Shadow was now his friend, and they had a understanding of how it worked.

"Ya I guess I am" he weakly said coughing again.

Shadows face finally showed sorrow and sadness "I will miss you Sonic… I wish you could pass more peacefully…" he looked down, he truly had no idea what to say.

Sonic got what he meant "I'll miss you too bud… take care of Amy alright… And everyone else now… you are the strongest of us now"

Shadow knew how important it was to him and nodded "I will do my best…" Shadow could almost feel tears start to build and sniffed, it caught everyone off guard.

He didn't care, nor try to hide his face, he wanted to let Sonic know in his last moment that he truly did care about him. So he unexpectedly hugged him and said "Guess my turn to protect the world"

Sonic chuckled then coughed "Guess so… you'll do great, I know you will"

Shadow nodded and stood up and gave him one last tear filled nod then backed away allowing Chloe and Sonic o be alone. He felt a sad hug from Amy and pulled her close.

Sonic coughed louder, the heart monitor spiking up then deep down low. It was nearly time.

Sonic cringed and panted and looked to Chloe "One last favour…"

"Anything" she said gripping his hand tightly.

"One last kiss for the road?" he asked.

Her eyes teared up but leaned forward and kissed him one last time hearing the heartbeat monitor slow to a crawl.

Once they broke Sonic smirked his signature smirk and groaned out "Thank you everyone" his last word breathed out slowly and the monitor flat lined as his eyes closed and went limp.

Present…

Shadow frowned thinking of that moment. It hit everyone hard, things were different for a long time after he passed. Although Chloe never lost hope and ended up living a full life, seeing her daughters get married. Like Amy promised he became the over bearing uncle and second guessed all the boyfriends. It was enjoyable, he missed out on it since he got two sons.

Sadly now he was here in the same position as Chloe, although far less people were in the room. Not because everyone forgot about her but mostly because most were gone. Espio last he heard was alive, his ninja techniques and stuff somehow enhanced his age, but he lived far away now in what he considered a sacred area.

Charmy was the only other living person of the original gang, because he was youngest. He just couldn't make it, he sadly did age well and needed to special treatment to stay healthy.

Finally Omega was still active and well. With Eggman gone now he continued being a merc. He had cut ties from GUN never doing work for them again.

Tails and Cream wanted to come but also couldn't move too far or risk being hurt. So it was just Shadow, his two sons and their families.

They weren't large. Shade had a wife who was also another hedgehog, she was a lot like Amy, although neither Amy nor his son would admit that. Plus their son who was now an adult.

His other son, Dusk, had a girlfriend with him though, no marriage yet or kid.

"Did you two say what you wanted to say?" his red eyes on them both meaning this was their last chance.

"Yes dad" they both answered.

"Good… could you leave us alone?" Shadow asked and they and their loved ones left respectfully.

Shadow looked down at the love of his life, she was so fragile and weak now. It hurt him bad to see all the energy she carried gone leaving her so vulnerable and tired.

"Amy… I regret few things in my life, one of them was walking away in that park. Things may have gone differently then had I just thought clearly" he frowned looking away.

"Oh Shadow, don't worry about it. In the end it all ended well, we got together, got married had two wonderful sons and we got to here with relatively no problems" they had the occasional fight but it was never anything their relationship couldn't handle.

"Thank you for everything Amy… for teaching me to care… to love" he was going to open up to her now, he wouldn't let his pride get in the way. This could possibly be the last time he ever saw her beautiful eyes again and he wanted her t know how much she meant to him. He'd tried before when times weren't as desperate but she'd either only understand the jist of his rambling or get distracted, but now he was going to make it right.

"…Shadow-kun…" she sighed his name happily.

"You truly turned around my life for the better Rose. I was a loner, doing work to survive, what was I surviving for? Because of a promise I made a long time ago… but you gave me purpose again. More then just protect the world, to care about someone, love them, and eventually love our two sons. The best times of my life have been near you and I want you to know that it will never be the same with you gone. I won't go back to my old self but I just want you to know… before it's too late"

Amy stared up at him for awhile, he was worried she died in the middle of his speech but she cried a slightly and said "You are welcome Shadow… I want you to know my life is much more exciting with you in it too. Don't ever give up on life and watch over the kids"

"I will"

"And remember to watch over all of our friends families"

"Of course" he was gonna do that anyway. He was unofficially Tails and Sonics kids uncle.

"And Shadow…" her tone slightly changed.

"Yes?"

"When you are ready… you can find someone knew you know" her tone was serious. She didn't want him to be alone again. A person who lived forever mathematically would eventually find another person they love, she accepted that long ago. She had her time with him and soon it would be over. It wasn't fair to hold him down after death.

He was surprised and almost protested to say he could never love someone different but sighed knowing she was right "I will try"

"Good… I love you Shadow"

"I love you too Rose" he said taking her hand gently with a smile.

She rolled her eyes at the name "What do I say every time you call me that now, I'm not Rose anymore, I'm Mrs. Hedgehog"

"And how do I always respond?" he smirked back.

"That it's because I am a beautiful rose?" she asked.

"Exactly" he smiled kissing her cheek "Now rest"

She nodded and drifted into a sleep and Shadow stood up. He watched her for some time and wished he had more time, he wished Amy could live longer. He wished so many things, he wished he had made her laugh more, or said that he loved her more. But all that past him. Now he had accept that yet again he was losing the most important woman in his life. The only difference is this time it would be peacefully.

He debated letting that conversation be the last conversation he'd ever have with her. He stared at the machines wondering if he should turn them off and let her go now. It would shorten her time alone in the hospital and he'd be there when she passed.

Finally after several minutes he looked outside and noticed his family had gone and locked the door.

Approaching the sleeping female one last time.

He leaned over and gave her one last kiss and whispered "I love you Amy" he didn't want to but he started to cry, worse then when Sonic had passed, back then it had only been just tears escaping his eyes but now he was fully crying and whimpering.

He didn't want to do it and he didn't want her to die but he couldn't control life. He wanted to be with her when she passed so much, he didn't want her to die alone. Slowly receding into darkness in and empty room while he was god knows where.

He gulped taking her hand in her sleep and found some comfort in the small gesture despite it was totally only him doing it.

Tears streamed down his cheeks as he turned and looked to the power switch and took last breath and flipped it off. All the machines stopped and he waited watching his love leave this world.

He held onto her hand with both of his own and sniffed staring at her the entire time. It felt like an eternity, watching her breathing slowly struggle more.

He was tempted to turn everything back on but there was no going back now and leaned closer to her and said "Just calm down Rose, everything will be alright. You will be with our friends soon"

She was asleep but she seemed to calm at his words and the struggling to breath ended letting one last breath escape and all movement stopped.

He was panting suddenly staring t his mate and squeezed her hand and said "I love you Amy, remember that always"

He didn't move from his position for nearly an hour until he heard someone knock since he locked the door. It was one of the hardest things he ever did but he let go of Amy's hand and went to the door and saw a nurse.

She was going to chastise him about visiting hours and stuff but noticed his face and realized what happened "I'm sorry"

"Thank you" was all he could say and looked back at the lifeless body of his wife. He couldn't look at it and walked out still crying. The nurse let him be and did all the protocol for a deceased patient.

Shadow knew he couldn't look back or he may never leave. He'd attend her funeral and remember her but he promised her to not be held down by her. He now had a new adventure ahead of him, one with many different mysteries he would find but for now. He needed to tell his kids of their mothers death.

Step one on a new journey…

 **So that's it… I hope I made somebody cry to be honest. But it's over, left open for a sequel but I don't think I will. I got one shots to do.**

 **Also if you are confused on Sonics condition I suggest looking up the Salarians in Mass effect, they have the same problem. Their metabolism is faster allowing them to be smarter, stay awake longer and generally be more productive but at the cost of a thirty year life span.**

 **So review let me know what You think, if you cried let me know(no shame in it) and also let e know if you didn't because I want to know if I didn't make it sad enough.**

 **Live long and prosper.**

 **Admiralkirk95**


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